Crimson and Clovers
by The Sirens
Summary: It’s hard being in love. It’s harder loving a person who doesn’t know you love him. It’s even worse when you’re competing against a kid and the feelings of revenge. Why are demons always so possessive? Sucks for Sasuke. SasuNaruSasu KakaIru Rating to rise
1. Something Gained From Something Lost

Pheme: Hi everyone thanks for reading our first fanfic! May the fanfics gods bless you with smut

Lxie- Ignoring the baka, the stories pairing, if you haven't guessed is Sasu/Naru. Other pairings will be Kaka/Iru, Shika/Tem, Kiba/Shino, Neji/Hina, and there will be other we just need to get them to agree and not hurt Pheme. And for the sake of everyone's sanity, and Pheme's rants, all the genins that were around when Sasuke left were close to if not 15.

Pheme- Hey how come I would be the one to get hurt huh!?

Lxie- Cuz you're the one asking, and you're dispensable. Anyway on with the story!

"Blah" – Talking

'Blah'- Thinking

'_Blah'_- Kyuubi talking

♪Sairen♪- scene change

♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback

Definitions-

**Aniki**- elder brother

**Gomen na**** sai**- sorry

**Jinchuuriki**- demon container

**Baka**- idiot

**Okaa-san**- mother

**Kyuubi**- the nine tailed beast, The King

**Nekomata**- the two tailed beast, Death

**Houkou**- the five tailed beast, God of Illusions

**Kitsune**-fox

**Inu**- dog

**Neko**-cat

**Uta**-song (also original character!)

**Ren**- Water lily/connect (another original character, and while Ren does mean water lily, it also symbolizes the joined of a plant and water, so in this story Ren means connect.)

**Hitai**-**ate**- forehead protector

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Chapter I- Something Gained From Something Lost

The growls could be heard for miles around. The wails of anger…of hatred…condensed the air making it dense with energy.

"Kyuubi!"

The red eyes belonging to 'The King' turned. Nine tails twitched excitingly, as if anticipating another battle.

Behind the legendary kitsune, shaking in its stance, a snowy white inu stood. The gash on the demons side ran a deep scarlet red, ruining the milky white coat.

"Just because Nekomata betrayed me and retreated to the arms of her master, doesn't mean I will. I want to continue this fight aniki!"

"You're hurt. You're pathetic attempts are a disgrace. Leave my sight, go lick your wounds."

Leaping, the inu bared its fangs, ready to sink them into the kitsune's neck. Moving to the side Kyuubi evaded the attack with grace. Narrowing its black eyes, the inu brought all five of its tails high into the air, simultaneously dropping them, slapping the earth. As the five tail connected, the earth trembled, cracking and splitting all in attempt to knock the kitsune of balance.

"Fight me you coward!"

The kitsune gazed lazily at his younger brother. Turning away once more, the sound of a body hitting the ground made the kitsune give a sigh of pity and relief.

"Houkou you're going to kill yourself if you continue trying to fight with me in the condition you're in. I find it more fun to fight you when you're alive then when you're half dead." With his opinion voiced, the kitsune walked away. Obsidian eyes following the ginger coat till it disappeared from view. Shifting to its feet the demon struggled to stand.

"Hn. How stupid was I…to team up with a neko." Limping, the inu made its way to the tree in which it resided.

"Next time I'll fight Kyuubi by myself. The only one that will defeat him is me… I won't let anyone else."

And with that promise made, the inu fell into a deep sleep inside the tree it called home.

♪Sairen♪

The air was sizzling with chakra. The world grew quite, watching and waiting for the moment when the two forces would collide. And in that moment, a new fate would be made for the world.

In the Valley of the End, Naruto and Sasuke stood on opposite edges of the river. The pair resembled the sun trying to fight the moon, as if not wanting to set just yet. Flapping the wings that resemble hands, Sasuke's body was lifted from the ground. The dark eyes glaring at his comrade, his best friend, whose face was no longer supporting a smile. The smile filled with so much happiness, so much light that its radiance could be seen even in the darkest places. Ignoring the feelings of sadness brought by the non-existing smile, the last Uchiha lowered his left arm summoning his chakra to the hand. The dark eyes never lost contact with the once cerulean eyes that had turned a deadly crimson. The sound of a thousand bird chirping was the only hint to Sasuke that his attack was ready.

Naruto could only watch as his best friend prepared to attack. Casting his eyes down, the water rippled as the blonde took a step forward. The red kitsune chakra wrapped around his body, ready to protect, ready to attack. Extending his hand, Naruto summoned the Rasengan, for the first time without his clones. The mixture of wind and chakra swirled in his hand, a mini tornado tainted red. The wind swirled rapidly, anxious to be set free. One step followed another, increasing in pace, till as if on a cue the two teens launched for each other, their weapons aching to connect with flesh.

"SA-SU-KE!"

"NA-RU-TO!"

The screams overpowered the roar of the waterfall. Seconds brought the boys closer, when finally the jutsu, created to kill, connected. The powers so strong, a sphere formed just to let the powers duel…all in a vain attemtp to see which one was stronger. Chidori chirped happily as it connected with Naruto's stomach. Lurching forward from the attack, Naruto attack Sasuke's hitai-ate with his claws, creating a crack through the middle of the symbol of Konoha. The dark sphere created expanded as the forces within continued their fight to prove which one is superior.

The clouds above gathered and darkened, preparing to weep for the pair. A speck of light appeared in the middle of darkness that had morphed into a dome, and slowly it spread before engulfing the darkness into its light.

The red slanted eyes of a kitsune met the Sharingan surrounded by onyx. Trapped in the chaos brought by their own attacks, Naruto whispered one word, "Don't".

Striving to stay conscious, Naruto could only stare at his changed friend, wishing he had stretched his hand out during the time when they were young. Wishing, he had given Sasuke a smile, just as Iruka had done, and maybe get a smile from the stoic boy in return. Fingers wrapped by other fingers, maybe they could have been friends a long time ago, but the moment passed and fate brought them here instead.

The sphere twists and churns before bursting into hot air, separating the once friends. Tears leak down the blonde's face as he falls backwards, hitting the stone ground.

'Please Sasuke, please don't go.' With his last thought; Naruto succumbs to the darkness that had been threatening to over take him.

Sunshine struggled to break the clouds and Sasuke towered over the unconscious boy, the only one he saw deserving of the title of the Uchiha's friend. The small pieces of light wane, slowly giving up on passing the clouds and reaching the pair. The grip Sasuke has on the kunai tightens. The feeling of material slipping from his forehead, the clattering of his hitai-ate; Sasuke can only watch.

"Naruto." The word is a brief mumble, as if they Uchiha had something to say to the jinchuuriki, who is dead to the world. Opening his mouth to speak again, the sound of drops falling from the heavens and hitting the dirty world stops him. The sky cries for the broken friendship.

Turning, the last Uchiha walks away from the only person who could have given him the same power as his brother. If Sasuke had performed the same actions his brother did all those years ago, that wouldn't be real power, just following in the footsteps of his superior brother. He wouldn't become like his brother, for Sasuke was everything but his brother. There were other ways to obtain power, and once he got that power, then he would defeat his brother.

Giving one more glance at the blond, Sasuke leapt into the air, leaving everything behind. Turning his back on Naruto forever.

♪Sairen♪

'Kit, you have to wake up'

Hearing the voice of the kitsune that lived within him, cerulean eyes groggily opened; sleep still bordering his mind, ready to invade. Looking up at the white ceiling that wasn't his own, it looked back at him with its starched blandness.

'I'm at the hospital, aren't I?'

'Hai, you've been sleeping for a long time kit. How do you feel?' The kitsune's voice that had once spread fear throughout Naruto's body instead was relaxing. Lifting a hand, the dull blue eyes, no longer holding the spark of life, gazed at the gauze that was wrapped around his hand.

Naruto could only stare at the hand, the hand that had fought against Sasuke. Clenching both fists, the coolness of a hitai-ate touched his skin. Sitting up, Naruto winced as pain spread through his body. Ignoring it, cerulean eyes cast down searching for metal and cloth. A small gasp escaped dry lips, when his eyes connected with metal. The hitai-ate sat on his lap, one fatal scratch ruining the symbol of a Konoha shinobi. A shinobi that _should_ have fought to protect his home, his friends, and family.

'He's gone.'

The kitsune demon stayed silent, wary of the emotional state his container was in. Unsure of how his host would react, and the change of fate that would be the result.

Anger coursed through every cell of Naruto's being. Grabbing the hitai-ate, the blonde did the only thing he could think of; he flung Sasuke hitai-ate across the room, screaming at the non-present Uchiha.

"BAKA!"

The hitai-ate slapped the wall before cascading down to the ground. By the time the hitai-ate had met the ground, Naruto's mind had been made up.

'I'm going to become stronger. I'm going to become stronger and then I'm going to track your ass down Sasuke.'

Glaring at Sasuke's hitai-ate that sat crumpled like a ragged doll, the spark that had been lost returned to Naruto's eyes. Turning his eyes away from the hitai-ate, Naruto stared at the descending sun, the clouds turning purple and orange from the rays.

'I'll keep my promise to Sakura and I'm going to make a promise to myself too, Sasuke. I'm going to bring you back, even if I have to go against everyone and everything, I'm bringing you back Sasuke, if it's the last thing I do.' A wide smile spreads across Naruto's cheeks, his whiskers bending, giving the blonde more of the appearance of the kitsune that was hated.

"'Cuz that's my way of the shinobi." Hearing the words vocalized, Naruto continued watching the setting sun, never casting another glance at the hitai-ate that had been Sasuke's.

And with those words the kitsune inside of the blonde, gave a sigh of relief. Even though he didn't care, the demon was grateful that his host hadn't sunk into a depression. With purrs that would surely put his host to sleep, the kitsune demon let his mind slip into the darkness and slept.

♪Sairen♪

The sun and moon fell and rose on the canvas of the sky. Changing the heaven's colors to a startling peach hue and slowly shifting to a graceful cerulean, the days would linger about like a foul taste in the mouth. No matter how much you drank water and swished it about in your mouth, it still remained. It haunted the taste buds and refused to leave. Time seemed to slow down and it would not heed to the young Uchiha who was anxious and alert. Desperately wishing time would speed up so he could become stronger. To prove to his blood-thirsty brother that _he_ could beat him. _He_ could and _he_ would.

Fingering his hair, Sasuke found himself being led into one of the many hidden facilities stretched out in the Sound territory. Each one held hundreds of experiments, all at different stages of completion. Those deemed as failures by Orochimaru immediately were slaughtered and burned.

Learning this information from Orochimaru's lap dog, Kabuto, it took everything in him not to shudder, or comment on the glee that burned in the medic-nin's eyes. As much as Sasuke craved power, he couldn't help but feel that there were two reasons to these experiments: to play god and to watch the subjects slowly becoming nothing more than shells.

The ebony-haired ninja had a hunch that Orochimaru got a natural high on killing others. He killed for the sheer pleasure of killing. The way the legendary Sannin licked the blood in hunger. It was like his fuel…the thing that kept him going.

Orochimaru seemed to feed off of life's nectar.

But that didn't matter to Sasuke. As long as he obtain the power he was promised, he could care less what his so called _sensei_ did. It was easy to overlook the terrifying experiments, if Sasuke focused on the power and the death it would bring to his brother.

The slapping sound of footsteps against cool stone floors jerked Sasuke out of his musing. He blinked silently, his dark pools staring at the back of Kabuto. Kabuto's hair lightly swayed to and fro in its ponytail. Sasuke found himself watching the swaying hair and was once more taken out of his daze by the sound of a heavy door sliding open. After a year of spending time with the Snake Sannin, Sasuke was finally going to step into a different world. A world built by a man who craved power and the suffering of others.

Kabuto's clear and crisp voice broke the silence, "What you are going to see are the experiments that are in-progress. There are some who are new that are lingering in other cells. Sometimes, if the need arises at the moment, we will stick a non-tested patient with a tested patient and see how they both react to each other. It is always wise to see how the experiment will react if near a human. How they react will give us a clear view of how the treatment is affecting the patient." Orochimaru gave a hum in agreement as he began to walk forward. Kabuto following his leader, as Sasuke trailing after wondering when, during his musings, had the Snake Sannin arrived. Looking ahead, the walls were filled with cages.

"What happens if the experiment doesn't do anything to the non-treated patient?" Sasuke voiced out his curiosity with a bored tone. Passing cages Sasuke stuck his hand inside the pockets his pants provided, in fear of what would happen if was touched by the experiments.

The only shirt he had that bore the symbol of the Uchiha clan had been torn at the Valley of the End, but the young Uchiha held on to the cloth. His refusal to burn the last remembrance of his past lay in the desire to feel the fan against his back again. Even though he would never say it, Sasuke just wasn't ready to give up what was in his blood. He wasn't willing yet to give up the symbol of the Uchiha clan. He wasn't willing to give himself up fully…not yet. But to please his teacher, to gain power, Sasuke had given in to wearing an attire similar to what the Sannin wore. Black pants that allowed easy movement, a loose haori tied by thick purple rope, all to prepare for the time when the Sannin would take his body.

Sasuke watched as Kabuto tilted his head slightly to the side in amusement, slowing down his pace to walk beside the boy. In a year, the medic-nin had gotten use to the Uchiha's glares that had once frightened him, and now the silver-haired nin found pleasure in teasing the boy to see at what point the youth would break.

The last Uchiha was slowly growing aggravated that no one seemed to be answering his question. Did he say something stupid? Giving a snort in annoyance, as if to tell the older men that they might as well spill it and if not, he didn't care. Even in the year that had consisted of Sasuke being Orochimaru's student, his power was still hardly a match for either one of them. And the knowledge didn't change the fact that he was not going to act like the perfect pupil, smiling and nodding.

No.

He wanted answers and he didn't have all the time in the world to wait.

A hissing sound came from his right and Sasuke turned to look at a scraggly golden-haired man, or what was left of a man. His head was cocked to the side and his body only consisting of a human torso, left arm, and face. The remaining parts, his legs, right arm and eyes, were far from human. These parts appeared to be of bird of some sort for its legs were of a bony chicken with clipped talons. The right arm was all bone and looking mutilated with its jagged parts covered in dried blood.

"This experiment is one about flight. We tested this man with the genes of the white-tailed hawk that is a local bird around these parts. He seemed to be doing great and his right arm took on the structure of a wing. However, when feathers began to grow in he would pluck them off and scream out vile words. So, it was decided to cut off its bones to prevent any more feather growth for the moment. This one also has a tendency of being a pack rat. He keeps anything that comes his way and still keeps the feathers he plucked out. When we tried to clean it up, he broke one of the orderly's arms," Kabuto explained as Sasuke watched the bony male scurry about in his cell.

Before Kabuto could growl at Sasuke to hurry up, for Orochimaru had ignored the experiments in these cages and was already ahead, another hiss filled the air.

Sasuke stared in silence as the blonde male turned to them with feathers cupped in his hands. Some would slip away form his hands and flutter toward the ground like dying butterflies.

"Aren't they pretty?" The creature whispered out loudly as glazed eyes were turned up to the sky. "Aren't they pretty? I made them…I took care of them. They're mine," the male laughed gently as he bent his head down to kiss the small pile of feathers. A feather stuck to the side of his mouth when he drew back, like it wanted to return to the body that had made it. A frantic look was drawn on the man's face as no response was heard. Dropping the feathers, his body jolted forward and pressed against the bars. The voice that had been quite, released a shrill scream, the creatures glazed eyes were now as wide as saucers.

"Aren't they? Aren't they preeeeeeetty?! Pretty! Tell me they're pretty!"

Kabuto sighed softly, grabbing Sasuke by the wrist and tugging the petrified Uchiha away from the man's cell and down the corridor. After a few moments, Sasuke realized where he was and what was going on. Tugging his wrist out of Kabuto's grip, he narrowed his eyes in displeasure. The hallway the trio walked through was filled to brim with occupied cells. Sasuke was taunted and harassed by the other experiments, the promises of sexual satisfaction made clear by words and by gestures. Sasuke made it his duty to burn those words into ashes, even before they reached his ears. He'd rather not remember them.

Then it came.

Nearing Orochimaru's sauntering figure, a soft sound of someone singing could be heard. There were no words; the song was more like one a bird would sing. Each note was clear as a bell and smooth as silk caressing soft flesh. The notes would raise an octave and slowly go down in a beautiful scale. Then the song would once more go up but skip half-steps and hit a sharp note with deadly accuracy.

Kabuto and Orochimaru seemed unaffected by the beauty of the song and walked toward the source with blank faces. Sasuke however tried to hide the look of curiosity as he tried to imagine what the source of this song looked like. If this was just another experiment, the body of the singer would be mutated, but his gut told him something different. His gut told him that such an angelic voice could only be from an angel.

Turning a corner, the trio moved slowly to the end of the hallway that only held one cell. The singing echoed about and ricochet off of the wall like a bullet. Sasuke found himself willingly pushing himself forward, walking closer to Orochimaru. Finally reaching the end of the hallway, ebony eyes turned to look inside the cell and found a slender figure sitting in the corner. A small child was curled up beside it, its eyes closed in a blissful sleep. The singing stopped and the slender figure raised its head to reveal the beautiful heart-shaped face of a woman. Snow-white hair cascaded down her shoulders at her movement and her youthful face didn't look a day over twenty-seven.

"This is Experiment 4104, she calls her self Uta," Orochimaru mused, cutting off Kabuto who was going to introduce her to Sasuke. The Avenger watched as Uta rose to her feet; the movement causing the sound of metal scrapping against dirt to be heard. Though Sasuke couldn't see what caused this sound, due to the poor lighting, the only explanation would be shackles.

"Uta, today…we will be taking a little something from you. Don't fret…we all must make sacrifices for a greater cause," Orochimaru purred pleasantly. Uta's eyes opened, revealing the golden specks on her emerald eyes, but the light that should have shone was dulled. The Uchiha watched the women hold herself up with dignity and without any fear. She looked like royalty wearing rags with splays of dirt on her knees, elbows and left cheek. Despite it all her posture and beauty held an unattainable sense of power. Sasuke felt suddenly to petite for words.

"How dare you! Don't you dare think about taking away my daughter!" She spoke sternly her voice cutting through the air like a dagger. Orochimaru seemed unfazed and motioned for Kabuto to open the cell. The silver-haired nin gave a grunt in response and took the ring of keys off of his belt. Fingering through the keys he found the right one and unlocked cell. The door gave a screeching sound as it swung open. The three of them stepping back to make room for the cell's door.

Kabuto slowly made his way inside, approaching the young girl who was now awake and cowering in fear. She appeared to be no older than five and her hair a few degrees darker than the hue that graced her mothers head. Her eyes were the color of icebergs floating in the freezing sea covered with snow. If Uta was the personification of a winter land, then the girl would be the moon giving light to the earth below.

The child wasn't shackled, making it easier for Kabuto to pluck the kid by the collar and carry her out of the cell. At this Uta became crazed with anger, launching herself at the silver-haired nin, her hands like claws that wanted to tear his skin. A feat she would have succeeded if invisible strings hadn't stopped her. Turning her head to the source, Uta saw the Snake Sannin with a twisted grin on his face and the chakra strings that had attached to her body coming from his fingertips.

"Stop it! You have me already! Why do you want her?" She cried out as malice laced her words; pain and worry were etched on her face. Seeing her daughter's frightened face, the cries to return to her mothers embrace was breaking Uta's fragile heart. The silver-haired woman didn't want her daughter to suffer…she didn't want her to go through a fate that had not been designed for her.

"Please! I beg of you! Let her go!"

The cell's door closed shut and the sound of it locking filled the air. The chakra strings vanished and her body buckled to the ground. Uta crawled forward, wrapping her scrawny hands around the bars, her body trembling as tears fell from her eyes. The mother opened her mouth again to scream at the silver-haired nin who was roughly handling her daughter. Orochimaru clicked his tongue in annoyance and playfully wagged a finger cutting her off before Uta even started.

"I'm not going to use her…I'm going to kill this little failure. Sasuke-kun, to answer to your question from before when a non-tested subject mingles with a tested subject and nothing happens…we get rid of them both. Only this time our lovely Uta will get the pleasant end of the stick." Orochimaru fondly ruffled the child's moon-colored hair and chuckled when the child squeaked in fear and drew back.

Ignoring the cries from the mother, Kabuto and Orochimaru turn to leave.

"Uta…your name means 'song', doesn't it? Tell me…do nightingales still sing when they are dead? I guess we'll find out when we come back for you," Orochimaru hummed out, giving the women one last glance before walking down the hallway with Kabuto at his side. Sasuke trailed behind bearing an expressionless mask. It was better to be void of emotion and stay out of this ordeal.

The mother continued to cry out and she turned her emerald eyes onto the ebony-haired youth.

"You! Please! Watch over my daughter! Please, take care of Ren!" She called out franticly. Sasuke just turned his head and gave a silent look to Uta. He watched how her hair framed her face and a look of desperation was carved on her lips and eyes. For a brief moment the image of Naruto replaced the woman's. His sun kissed hair, his blue eyes always filled with determination. Naruto who would give his life to protect some else's; him and Uta were the same. Blinking, Sasuke looked at the women again, and only saw her. Looking at the floor Sasuke turned away from the mother, as if he hadn't heard a thing. The shrill scream of agony was the last sound that came from Uta, the pitch so high and filled with pain; Sasuke winced.

Sasuke caught up to the others rather quickly and he found the girl's hand was now caged in Kabuto's larger one. The medic-nin led the timid girl along the darkened hallway and would occasionally snarl when she faltered. The girl made no remark to the medic-nin, her eyes instead moved caged by cage, giving a soft smile to each experiment.

Reaching the cage the held the golden-haired man, Sasuke watched in silent awe as the male stuck his arm out through the bars and held out a single feather. The child, Ren, tugged on Kabuto's hold and leaned a bit to her left, her small hands barely reaching the feather.

"Isn't it preeeeeeety?"

Ren turned her large eyes to the golden-haired male as she was tugged onward. Grabbing the feather, she uttered out a soft 'yes' and Sasuke watched the wingless male give a nod and small smile. "Yes…they are pretty," the man murmured back to the child, retreating to the small cot in the corner of its cell. Sasuke felt a strange shiver run through his body as he walked behind him. This small girl seemed to connect with the man and with all the others, for no noises where coming from the other cells.

Connect… Isn't that what her name meant? What gave this child the ability to do so?

What made her so special?

♪Sairen♪

It had been a week since Sasuke saw the girl named Ren. Orochimaru and Kabuto had taken her the moment they had left the facility. Sasuke was sent to train with the men Orochimaru had captured for his latest experiments. When it came to fighting the to-be-candidates, the Snake Sannin only had one rule…to kill the weakest.

In the passing year, Sasuke had become stronger. In the beginning, when the Sannin would order him to fight, Sasuke would go easy on them, and his punishment would be to watch Kabuto and sometimes Orochimaru torture the men to death. Time had helped him learn, and now during the times that his sensei ordered him to fight, Sasuke would go all out, killing as many as he could. Their dieing breathes always held curses, not that Sasuke ever wanted to hear their thanks.

"Sasuke." The sound of his name brought the last Uchiha out of his thoughts. Looking to were the sound originated from, Kabuto stood. Ignoring the medic-nin, Sasuke took a deliberately slow step forward, arching his back in a turtles pace, moving one arm then his other. His muscles strained under the pressure, his breathe laboring after moving from one stance to next in the last two hours.

Minutes passed, Sasuke continuing his exercises as Kabuto stood there watching. "Sasuke, Orochimaru-sama wishes to see you." The words that seemed like a request, held an order. Grunting his response, Sasuke finished his last stance. Moving towards Kabuto, he bent down to pick up his top that had been shed off before starting his regular morning katas.

"What does he want?"

"Just follow me." With those words Kabuto turned away from the Avenger, making his way to the section that only Orochimaru was allowed to live in. Sasuke should have been use to this. Use to the fact that his question were never answered, that he was only ignored till he was of some use to the Sannin, to his sensei.

Sasuke followed Kabuto patiently; the older boy knew his way around each of the several facilities that were scattered around Sound. The sound of screams reached the Uchiha's ears even before the smell of burning flesh came. Looking forward, the dark eyes of the Uchiha met the wooden door that confined the screams. A snake was carved beautifully into the wood, each scale, each twist of its body, if it weren't for what the snake represented, Sasuke might have grown to appreciate such a design.

The wooden doors opened with a push, the light from inside bathed the medic and the Avenger, casting large shadows behind them. Stepping forward, used to the way Orochimaru set his rooms up, Sasuke looked at nothing.

"Ah… so my little Sasuke-kun has decided to join us." Turning his head, Sasuke met Orochimaru's glassy eyes. Sasuke had seen so much in his life, but the sight before him almost made him want to find a bush and toss everything he had ever eaten. These feelings were the same ones he had felt when he came upon his whole clan slaughtered.

At Orochimaru's feet lay Uta, blood dripping from every wound, some deeper than others. Her body littered with burns and Orochimaru's poison running through her veins. Lifting her head, the long moon-like hair tainted by blood was pushed away from her face and the women came into contact with Sasuke's eyes, almost forcing the young Uchiha to gasp in sorrow. The angel's once emerald eyes, had completely lost all hue and brilliance, nothing was left and Sasuke would bet the same could be said of her soul.

"Okaa-san." The small whisper of 'mother' drew Sasuke's attention to Ren. The girl stood there, not moving, simply watching her mother be taken by death.

"Now, now Ren-chan you should apologize for what you have done to your mother. After all if you had just died, she wouldn't have had to take your place. You're going to make me lose my favorite toy." The fake sadness held in the Sannin's voice made Sasuke want to shudder in repulse. The icebergs for eyes moved from the crumpled form of her mother to the graceful stature of the man. For a moment the eyes changed to the darkest shade of onyx, before returning to their brilliant blue.

The child opened her mouth, but was stopped by the sound of a rasping voice. "Don't…apologize to me…I…I never regretted giving birth to you. I-I love you Ren. You're my daughter first and any…anything else second." Uta struggled to stretch her arms out to her daughter, a kind smile set on her face, even though her body was convulsing in pure agony. Biting her lip, the young child walked forward, dropping to her knees and accepting her mothers embrace. Uta held her child tightly, glancing only once to meet Sasuke's eyes again. The silent pleas were sent his way, before closing her eyes and sinking into the warmth Ren created.

"N-No matter what's in you…you have never been…a …demon in my eyes. I love you…and I always wi…" The heaviness that became her mother's weight was something that Ren could not support, but as a final effort Uta moved to the side, dropping to the ground as graceful as ever.

"Okaa-san?" The child's eyes widened in realization, "OKAA-SAN!" Shaking Uta's shoulder, Ren desperately tried to awaken her mother. The loud laughter behind the girl hardly covering the screams.

"My how pitiful. Seems like my nightingale has died…and all she left was a demon." Grounding her teeth Ren turned, her hands moving away from the coldness that was entering the body that was belonged to her mother. Her tiny hands turned to fists and the ice eyes turned once more black, this time however staying the shade.

"You. You did this to her." The voice of the child was lowering to one of an adult. A voice filled with hatred.

"You. Are. Dead." Lurching forward, Ren's nails sharpened, her canines extending beyond normal, and the chakra that was released was as frightening as the time at the Valley of the End.

Kabuto was in front of the girl, before she stood a chance of touching Orochimaru. With a chakra infused hand, Kabuto sent the girl sailing across the room, hitting the wall with a sickening crunch.

"Orochimaru-sama are you alright?" Kabuto asked as his eyes remained on Ren.

"Of course I am." The snappish remark made Kabuto take a step back, unsure of how his master was going to act. "Kabuto you clearly had told me that this girl was a failure, just like all the rest. So can you explain what just happened? How she was able to use chakra that you said she didn't posses?"

"Gomen na sai Orochimaru-sama, I seemed to have overlooked something." Moving away from the snakes' way Kabuto approached the form of the girl. His jaw was clenched in silent anger. How could he have made a mistake? That's impossible. Watching her, he saw her teeth had sunken back to their original size, as well as her nails. The only change in her appearance was the shape of her eyes, now more circular than oval, resembled a dog more then a human.

A fading glow from the girl's lower back caught Kabuto's eye. Lifting the rag covering the girl, the silver-haired nin's eyes widened in surprise. On stem of the back, above the tail bone, a fading seal mark graced the porcelain skin. The design rough and jagged, yet, similar to the same seal on the abdomen of Naruto Uzumaki. Once the seal had faded, another took its place, and this one was one that Kabuto recognized.

"Orochimaru-sama, it seems as if Uta placed a chakra blocking seal on the girl. Since Uta's death, the seal should wear off, but not for at least another few months or so. A lot of chakra was placed into the seal; Uta probably gave the child some chakra each day."

Orochimaru's slanted eyes turned from the girl and Kabuto to the form of Uta. Kicking the body, the snake screamed as if Uta was still alive. "How dare you! You're just like that old man! Always messing with my plans! Damn you!"

The Snake Sannin continued with his rant, every now and then kicking Uta's corpse or tossing stuff across the room.

Ignoring his sensei's moment of lunacy, Sasuke made his way to Kabuto, who seemed to be trying to heal the girl, but wasting time for within seconds the girl had healed herself. 'Like Naruto', the instant that Sasuke had thought of his friend, he wished he hadn't. The ache that he had learned to dull becoming painful again. Forcing his mind away from thoughts of Naruto, Sasuke took in the girl's appearance, remembering the pleas of the mother to protect her and the look that Uta had sent him moments before dieing.

"Kabuto what's going to happen to the girl?"

Ignoring the curiosity that could be sensed in the younger boy's voice, Kabuto answered, "Seeing as she isn't a failed experiment, Orochimaru-sama will probably want to keep her around. But she would be a danger around him and me. This child will end up more powerful than you can imagine and I don't think Orochimaru-sama will trust her with anyone else but…you."

Sasuke's eyes widen a fraction at the answer.

"Congratulations Sasuke, looks like you've become a father."

Kabuto's sneering voice never reached Sasuke's ears. After all the times he had pushed away others, pushed away loved, betrayed and destroyed any hope of ever having any sort of a family, the gods had given him another chance. One that the last of the Uchiha's wished he would never ruin.

But the feelings were so raw that Sasuke could hardly understand them.

So instead Sasuke gave out an intelligible response, "What!?"

TBC...

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Lxie- So there you have the first chapter of our amazing story. I wonder how Sasuke will take to being a father. Mwahaha. Soooo, the next update should be sometime next week, and we get to see Naruto all grown up and lovely, and a special appearance is made in that chapter too! Try to guess who, they were mentioned in this chapter. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the story and keep an eye out for our next post. And don't forget to review cause they make us feel very much loved.


	2. It Would Be Best If We Had Never Met

Lxie - Like we promised here's the new chapter, and you better like it cause we worked hard to write this. And because we love you if you review we'll give you some fan-service featuring our two love birds. Not that there won't be some anyway but hey words of love are encouraging.

"Blah" – Talking

'Blah'- Thinking

'_Blah'_- Kyuubi talking

♪Sairen♪- scene change

♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback

_**Definitions**_-

**Oto**-younger brother

**Jinchuuriki**- demon container

**Baka**- idiot

**Hitai-ate**- forehead protector

**Tousan**-father

**Gaki**- brat

**Otome**- lady

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Chapter II: It Would Be Best If We Had Never Met

When days are filled with frustration and determination, three years pass rather quickly. The blonde-haired shinobi trained himself to his breaking point daily, from the break of dawn to well into the night. Never resting unless Tsunade, Sakura, or Iruka forced him to take a day off, telling the blonde that if he kept going on this way he would die. The blonde shinobi knew that there was truth in their words, his body crying out in pain each day was proof enough. But the blonde shinobi continued forward, ignoring it all, filling his time with missions, training and ramen.

As missions came back perfectly completed, rumors of a great shinobi spread throughout the lands. All of Konohagakure was impressed at the once unpredictable rookie of Konoha became a powerful but still unpredictable jounin. The villagers and fellow shinobi's were acknowledging the jinchuuriki achievements, some even forgetting the fact he held a demon within his body. The small victory pushing the ball of sunshine even closer to his goal.

Naruto thrived off of the goal of retrieving his friend back. At nights he would toss in discomfort, dreaming of their confrontations. The way Sasuke's jaw would work in frustration, watching Naruto get in his way. The way Sasuke's body would morph into a terrible creature with the strength of a newborn god. The way Sasuke's mouth would open and shout out his name, the voice laced with frustration and regret. It haunted Naruto and he would wake up in a cold sweat as the last fleeting images of Sasuke walking off danced in his mind. Naruto would stretch his hand out to the memory, only to grab the empty air above him.

It was…aggravating. To know that Sasuke was out there and Naruto was stuck in Konoha. Tsunade shot down each request to find Sasuke and words could never explain how many times she scolded herself as the boy, she thought of as her successor, would lose himself sadness and turn away.

However, the blonde-haired teen couldn't dwell on the thoughts of finding Sasuke today. Today he was to travel to Sound for a completely different reason. The great Land of Sound seemed to be harvesting a different kind trouble than snakes, the kind of trouble that came in the form of men adorned in black with red clouds.

The Akatsuki.

Several members of the group had been sighted rather frequently in the Land of Sound. The only theory that sounded at all reasonable was something was pulling them out into the open. The something, Tsunade explained late last night when the mission had been assigned, could be a tailed beast living in the Rice Field Country.

Naruto had to admit he was glad to be entering the Land of Sound. The chance that maybe he would run into Sas – Naruto shook his head angrily at the thought of his former friend rushed into his mind. He had a mission to focus on and thinking about his dark-haired companion wouldn't help him. Glancing at his clock, which was usually covered in clothes with ramen containers encircling it, a yelp of surprise leapt from the blonde's throat. The hands pointing out that the blonde only had a few minutes before he would have to meet his team at the gate. "Kuso! I was sure I'd set the alarm at an earlier time," Naruto grumbled to the empty apartment, shedding his pants while attempting to get out of his bed.

Minuets began to tick by in chaos as clothes were strewn into the air, the blonde searching for his regular orange pants. Finding them underneath the vest proclaiming him as a jounin, Naruto half-hopped out of the door, struggling to put his pants and pack on. The blonde staggering out of the door without even a glance back to the frame that held a picture of a once happy Team 7.

Racing through the streets, the jinchuuriki momentarily thought of leaping into the air and taking the less trafficked roof tops. But the thought was rejected for Naruto knew that his chakra needed to be conserved in case of any surprise attacks. Kind smiles were sent to the kitsune vessel as he passed by and Naruto waved back, the sadness he had been feeling giving way to the happiness of no longer being hated. Pushing forward, Naruto picked up the pace as he neared the Northern gate, never considering that when he got there all he would find was a fuming Sakura, a lewd grinning Jiraiya and an emotionless Sai.

"Ah…I'm…sorry…I'm…late," Naruto panted, running a hand through his golden tresses grinning madly. Sakura muttered a few incoherent words, raising her fist before swinging it down making contact with Naruto's head.

"Apology accepted," Sakura replied calmly as Naruto rubbed his head with a pout on his lips. "At least you didn't give me an excuse that involved dolphins like Kakashi-sensei would give."

"Now, now. Enough rough housing. Let's get going before Tsunade gets on my case," Jiraiya sighed. "It's obvious an apology won't solve problems. So…just give your packs to Naruto," Jiraya mused on as he scratched his jaw. Before Naruto could protest, three packs were in front of Naruto being held by his companions. And as if they had practiced ahead of time they said in unison, "Here you go!"

"Hell no!" Naruto exclaimed, though knowing that he stood no chance against them.

♪Sairen♪

Crimson lit the sky. The bird still asleep

Nestled in its nest it takes no attention to the rising sun that seems to come out from the ground itself. Like a dream, the sun begins to shed its light across the land. A wind whispers by, gently caressing the sleeping bird's side as a quite chirp escapes. A slender neck stretches from its current position of being snuggled in its own body. Coal-colored eyes blink and stare silently at the view before it.

The fiery orb of a sun rose up slowly from the ground as if hell was opening up its gates to let it past by. The air seemed to ripple for a brief moment before becoming deadly still. The sky meshing a soft orange and aqua, letting the peaceful atmosphere take over. As the inferno that was the sun rose, the bird gave out another chirp. Its wings were untucked from its sides as dark tar-colored feathers were revealed with a splay of dirt-brown on the mid-back. Bony legs stretched and the bird now stood in its nest. The underside of the creature's neck, stomach and tail feathers were pure white, like the color of snow when falling for the first time in winter.

Beating the air with its wings, the bird took off. Basking in the warmth the sun was happily providing. Without warning the body froze midair, soon plunging to the ground like an angel with its wings clipped. The strength and willpower to flap those wings diminishing as the grass-covered ground came closer and closer. Thudding onto the ground, the wind once more whispered to the silent creature on the ground. The sound of footsteps made the wind scurry off like spiders would to light after being trapped in the darkness.

"Oi, Itachi!" A voice broke the spell the morning air held. Beady eyes stared curiously at the limp bird on the ground. It was a common bird that was seen almost everywhere in the Sound country. 'A white-tailed hawk, I believe.'

Steel-blue skin glowed marginally as the sky lost its orange hue, showing only an aqua blue with splotches of dove-white clouds scattered about. The missing-nin lightly turned his head to the supple figure sitting calmly beside the tree. Crimson-colored eyes stared at Kisame's beady white eyes, telling the older nin that he was listening. "Did you see that? Right in the esophagus," Kisame laughed as he watched the younger nin sigh and raise his eyebrows in exasperation.

"No…I have no idea what you are talking about," Itachi replied, his eyes closing as his fingers lightly tapped his bent knee. Kisame's brows furrowed and he turned back to the fallen bird only to find his kunai and not the bird.

"Zetsu," Itachi added after a moment of confused silence from Kisame's part. And on cue the nin appeared from the ground as its Venus Flytrap body emerged. Golden pupil-less eyes stared at Itachi before turning to Kisame. "News?" Itachi asked and the half-milky and half-melanoid figure lightly tilted its head to the left. Kisame plopped down onto the ground near the two, lightly scratching his jaw in silence.

"News? Yes. Rumors begin to breed in the dark corners of Sound. Five-tails has awakened and its power was felt. I am investigating the exact area…but all we know is that it is located in the northern areas of Sound. We believe it may be a jinchuuriki, for if it is not…we would have heard more about it," Zetsu spoke in that robotic voice and manner of his. "Boss-sama requests that you both search for the five-tails and if found, report and capture," Zetsu added as he paused to lightly scratch his nose.

Kisame and Itachi both gave nods in agreement and watched Zetsu sink back into the ground.

"North then…" Kisame mused as he watched the Uchiha rise to his feet with ease. Rising to his own, he brushed himself off as he adjusted the sword that rested on his back. "It's going to rain," Kisame stated as he looked at the clear cerulean sky, his triangular teeth flashing in the sun.

"Let's head near a village then," Itachi stated emotionlessly, walking forward and ignoring the squeaks and chirps came from the nest in the tree. Four small little heads turned their head to the sky, crying out in hunger.

♪Sairen♪

Naruto grumbled in displeasure as he felt his muscles quivering under the pressure and strain he had been forced to carry. What was worse than carrying all four packs, was endure Sai's taunt about Naruto's lack of manhood. And the fact that only two days out of a five day trip had passed was slowing making the ball of sunshine scream.

"You know, gaki, you could give us our packs back," Jiraya mused as he paused to look back at the blonde. Naruto was about to open his mouth when his eyes caught the smiling face of Sai. 'Bastard.' Naruto huffed, sticking his nose in the air and walking forward as if he didn't hear a thing from the Sannin.

"Still don't see why they can't carry their own packs. At least I don't have to carry Sakura medical stuff, that's gotta weigh a ton.'

"Oi, Dickless! Hurry up." The irritating voice that belonged to the ink user dragged the jinchuuriki away from his scheme of dumping all the packs into the river.

Looking up, blue eyes widened in the fact that his team had left him behind during his musings. Quickening his pace to catch up, the voice of the kitsune stole his attention.

'_Kit'_

'What is it?'

'_A…a smell'_

The oddness of the kitsune's statement had no relevance in Naruto's mind. The kitsune would never say anything that didn't hold some significance. Tensing his body, the blonde adjusted the packs that weighed heavily on his back, just in case he would have to drop them in mist of an attack. Blue eyes darted, eyeing everything under a suspicious gaze. His body was still prepared for an attack when he reached Jiraiya and the others.

Jiraiya instantly noticed the change in his student. The airiness that usually surrounded his student had been replaced by alertness. As if an attack would come in the next few seconds. In the last few minutes something had happened to the blonde; the Sannin had traveled long enough with the boy not to notice the change in moods, and the Sannin wanted to know what was wrong.

"Gaki. I think you've been punished enough, hand them over." Stretching out the large hand, Jiraiya waited for the feel of the packs. Blue eyes turned to meet the white-haired man. With a quick nod Naruto instantly relinquished his hold on the heavy packs. Darting forward he passed Sai and Sakura, feeling relieved that he no longer had to carry the packs. The feeling of carrying the packs had reminded him of when Jiraiya and himself had been sent out to find Tsunade, The Legendary Sucker. The yellow pack had been stuffed with almost his entire apartment - besides the bed and furniture - and had held a year's supply of ramen. The fact of the matter was that he was kind of glad he hadn't been able to lift the yellow pack.

'_The smell…it's stronger'_

The kitsune's voice made Naruto alert once more; stopping under the shade of a tree, the blonde tried to sense any unfamiliar chakra.

There was none.

'What kind of smell?'

'_A…a familiar smell.'_

'Kyuubi?'

"Naruto?" the concerned voice matched the expression on the pink haired kunoichi's face. Blue eyes met green, and a feeling of regret for worrying his friend settled in the blonde's stomach.

"Ano…Sakura-chan. I'm fine, don't worry." But the words had little effect on the blonde's friend. After all, in Sakura's opinion, she was a medic first, a friend next. Reaching over to touch the tanned skin that belonged to the blonde, a sigh of relief escaped her lips when she released that he had told the truth. Well in a physical state he was fine, but mentally and emotionally, Sakura wasn't sure.

"Well maybe you should rest, at least for a bit. We wouldn't want our number one hyperactive shinobi to be tired now," teasing; Sakura noticed the shine in his eyes return, never realizing that the eyes had dulled.

"Not to mention I want to fill the canteens. Plus Sai is going to hunt some rabbits, so why don't you take a rest." Giving a caring smile at her friend, she watched the blonde nod and turn to the trunk of the tree that stood less than ten feet behind him.

"I wouldn't eat so much if I were you, hag. You might become as big as a horse." The voice of the ink user ruined the happiness that had warmed Sakura. Facing the dark haired boy, Sakura spoke as calmly as she could.

"I think the expression is, 'I'm as hungry enough to eat a horse.'" Picking up the canteens the ink users voice spoke again.

"Why would you want to eat a horse?" Sai asked the kunoichi, wondering why anyone would eat such a majestic creature.

"You wouldn't." Sakura stated, carefully trying to calm her anger. 'How can anyone be so idiotic?!' Inner Sakura screamed.

"But…" Before anymore words could be ushered from the ink user's mouth, a fist infused with chakra met with the top of his head. Hearing the yelp in pain, inner Sakura yelled out in happiness, while Sakura just kept a strained grin. Grabbing the semi-unconscious Sai, she dragged him away. But not before meeting Jiraiya's eyes motioning that he should talk to Naruto. Receiving a nod from the older nin, Sakura made her way to the stream.

'_The smell it's so familiar…to familiar. So old…'_

"What's going on with the Kyuubi, Gaki?" The Sannin asked the younger nin, who had decided to sit down under the shade of the tree.

"In truth I have no idea Ero-sennin. He keeps saying he smells something but I can't smell a thing. But there is this sadness in the air; it's weird." Jiraiya took a deep sigh before speaking.

"Naruto, I know we are going to be in the Land of Sound soon, but you have to remember your mission first." Tanned shoulders tensed under the black and orange jacket. The Sannin watched closely, trying to get a read of the boy, noticing nothing, he went on. "I want you to promise me that even if you find Sasuke and he says he wants to come back to Konoha, that you will ignore him. Your mission is to find the vessel and if found, protect it no matter what."

Naruto's eyes widen at Jiraiya's crudeness, bringing his head down to cover his eyes with the golden tresses. To say that he hadn't been wishing to see Sasuke would be a lie, but his sensei was right. He was on a mission.

'But Sasuke…'

'_Maybe it's about time to forget about him kit. He's gone for good.'_

The kitsune's voice held truth but Naruto was never one to admit it. Tears crowed to the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill.

"Naruto, stand up and look at me! I want an answer." The blonde stood up, no longer having to arch his neck to meet the Sannin's gaze. Dulled blue eyes met ebony ones, his mind was made.

Opening his mouth, it was at that moment he was wishing Sakura would appear with the canteens. He would do almost anything to get rid of the dryness in his throat. Swallowing, the blonde refused to break his connection with his teacher.

"I promise Ero…Jiraiya-sama. I will do anything in my power to protect the vessel. Even if I…" Naruto's breathed hitched as he though of the words he was about to say. His eyes wavered for a second, before focusing. Taking a deep breathe Naruto continued. "Even if I have to kill Sasuke." Tears trekked down the tanned cheeks and Naruto turned away from the gaze of his sensei. The ball of sunshine dulled by passing clouds.

Walking away from the awkward silence that had been created, Naruto could here the cries of the Sannin, but chose to ignore them. The words that he had uttered just moments ago continually being repeated in his mind.

'Even if a have to kill Sasuke. Even if a have to kill Sasuke. Even if a have to kill Sasuke. Even if a have to kill Sasuke…'

'_Kit…'_

'DON'T,' anger laced every part of the word. And while the kitsune should have cared less, he still understood. Sighing he made his way to the darkest corners of Naruto's mind, fully intending to think over the smell that had been so familiar.

"I guess I couldn't keep my promise, gomen." The words were muttered into the air stayed as a constant reminder. And Naruto felt he only had a single choice: to run. The blonde's pace quickened, as though he was running away from everything and to something else.

Trees made way for the boy, reaching out to caress the broken heart with their leaves. Naruto kept his feet pounding on the ground, the noise being the only barrier against his thoughts. But within a matter of minutes the blonde had reached his breaking point. Dropping to his knees, the blonde head was thrown into the sky that he hadn't noticed darken. A heart wrenching sound was torn from the jinchuuriki throat. The sound as horrible as an animal would make when facing the last seconds of life. Tears fell from his eyes, dripping silently to the ground.

As if the sky pitied the boy, tears fell from the clouds that had gathered ceremonially. The tears mixed with the drops, but no sound could cover the cries.

And from behind a tree, shoulders covered in red material shook. Pale hands cupped Sakura's face, the pink hair acting as a curtain to hide the pain the girl felt. She wept for her friend that she had forced a promise she had no idea would destroy him. She wept for the pair that would never be friends again. And she wept for Sasuke who would never be saved.

♪Sairen♪

Steam wishing it was mist thickened the air; only shadows of human bodies could betray locations. Sweat glistened over the pale muscles, moving in an agonizing pace. Water rippled when a shoeless foot moved. The steam rose in curls, wrapping sweetly over the body like a lover wanting attention. Ignoring the seductive game the steam had begun to play, dark hair moved with the momentum of the body.

Sasuke kept moving at a snail's pace. An arm here, a leg there; all in attempt to stretch sore muscles without requiring a break promising bliss. A rosy hue tainted the pale skin of the Uchiha. His shirtless chest heaved upward in breath as the dark-haired boy relocated his feet. The muscles strained under the slow pace, giving proof that under the white and black clothes a powerful body lay.

For Sasuke, stretching on top of a hot spring was the only thing close to soaking in the heated water. Water droplets in the form of sweat made paths down from the neck, caressing the muscular stomach, some sinking into the course hair that surrounded the boy's member, and the few that were unlucky enough to slip down the pale legs met the heated water.

The sound of someone running harshly through the corridor, leading to Sasuke's training spot, brought the boy out of his thoughts. Glassware hit the wooden floor with a loud crash, causing the last Uchiha to remove his eyes from its spot on a tree. He placed his gaze instead on the only door that lead to and from the hot springs. The footsteps were coming all much closer, increasing in pace the closer the person was getting to the springs. Releasing the pose his had taken before the ruckus had started, Sasuke turned completely towards the door, his charka unwavering while he kept his feet planted on the water. 'This better be good'

Moments before the wooden door slid open, Sasuke's eyes widen realizing who the chakra signature belonged to. 'I don't even want to know what you did this time, baka.'

The door slid open with a bang, locks of moon colored hair appearing through the semi-thick steam. Eyes the shade of icebergs met with onyx ones, never dropping the gaze they held on his face. The maroon yukata swirled around the small body that was racing against the wind to the springs. A wicked grin etched on the face of the girl and the last Uchiha didn't even want to think about what was running through the girl's mind.

"Sasuke-tousan!Towel!Gomen!Men!Ja!" the words were shouting in one breathe, scrambled as if to hide something. The small girl leapt into the springs, making quick hand seals that hid her chakra the moment her body hit the water. The splash created large ripples in the water, but Sasuke kept his balance grabbing, from mid-air, the rather fluffy towel that the girl had tossed. Wrapping the towel around the lower section of the body, the last Uchiha crossed his arms across his defined torso. Narrowing his eyes the famous Uchiha glare was in place, ready for the nin that Sasuke knew were approaching from the renewal of noise in the corridor.

The door that had closed after the arrival of the girl, was once more flung open this time creating an even louder noise when both door parts connected. Six sound nins filled the door, but unlike the girl, they were smart enough not to approach the Uchiha. Hitai-ate's carrying the Sound insignia were all on the nins heads, each body looking like a clone of the one next to them. Masks hid everything but eyes addicted to power, black and gray camouflage wrapped around each neck, nothing about any of the nins was different. All copies that served the Snake Sannin, all unknowingly to be sacrifices.

"Uchiha-sama, please forgive us for the intrusion but we were looking for Ren-otome." Under the scrutiny of the infamous Uchiha glare, the sound nins fought their fidgets and minds that told them to run, not wanting to reveal the amount of power the man held over them. One dark eyebrow rose, as if asking the nin that had spoken to continue.

"You see, Uchiha-sama, Orochimaru-sama wanted to assign a rather special mission to Ren-otome, but we couldn't find her anywhere. And then we spotted her running on to your section, and we followed thinking she would be here." The words quickly slipped out of the Sound nins mouth, babbling on about and unable to stop.

"As you can plainly see, Ren is not here. So you can go." The sound of the Uchiha's voice had more than one of the nin wanting to follow the order, but even though they did fear the Uchiha, they were completely terrified by the Sannin.

"But…Orochimaru-sama wants to…"

"I'll find her and take him to Orochimaru. Now, _leave_." The final word held such venom and promise of pain, the sound nins complied with his demand, disappearing in a wisp of smoke. At the sound nins departure, Sasuke slowly released his chakra hold at the bottom of his feet. As the hold diminished, the dark haired man slowly slipped into the awaiting warmth. Once the water had reached to his waist, he made way to the border of the springs to wait for the girl to pop up.

The last Uchiha only had to wait a few seconds before Ren's chakra signature appeared, followed by her silver head coming up from the murky water. Iceberg-colored eyes laughing, matching the wide grin perfectly.

Arms spread out onto the cool ground, her cheeks red from spending so long under the water. "Man, that's was scary," she giggled, her grin spreading even more.

"You're a baka, Ren." Ren lowered voice, trying to impersonate the stoic Uchiha.

"That's mean Sasuke-tousan," Ren went on, now in her voice as if she was reenacting a conversation held between the two before.

"You interrupted my training to increase my sexiness," Ren once more imitated Sasuke's voice as she playfully wagged a finger in the air.

"But there are only men here, Sasuke-tousan. And here I thought you liked women with big juicy breas…" before Ren could finish her fake exchange, a balled up fist hit her head.

"Itaii! What was that for!" Ren whined as she rubbed her head.

"For what you said…" Sasuke replied in a soft growl.

"About big breasties?" The second the word was uttered, the same fist came down hitting the girl again.

"You really are a baka." Ren's grin widened, her iceberg eyes connecting to onyx ones, and Sasuke couldn't stop the small smirk that was forced to his lips. Silence followed the pair, but unlike most silence brought on by the Uchiha boy this silence wasn't awkward.

"Ya scared them off?" The voice held laughter and happiness which could have fooled anyone, but Sasuke knew better. Ren was uncannily similar too himself and to Naruto, she hid her worries underneath a mask of cheer. But there were times that the smile the girl gave was real, creating warmth that spread throughout Sasuke's body.

"Hn."

"And here I thought they were after me for the prank I pulled." An eyebrow raised her way, and the girl continued.

"Stupid Kabuto, he made me take Orochimaru-sama his breakfast. And cause of that I had to get up early. And so I kinda went into Kabbi's lab and grabbed the first bottle I saw and poured it into snakies food. How was I supposed to know it would make Orochimaru-sama have to use the bathroom every five minutes?"

Sasuke stared at Ren, dumbfounded by her confession. In an attempt to hide his laugh, the dark haired nin brought his hand to his mouth. Forcing the would-be-laugh into a cough. Turning to face the door of the spring, Ren played with the water, unsure of what to say.

'Just like a prank Naruto would pull.' Thinking of the blonde-haired boy, his once best friend, all feelings were drained. In their replacement seriousness was placed. Taking a deep sigh, the avenger stood up.

"Come. Orochimaru wants to see you."

"I don't wanna go alone." The words were a simple whisper, but they tugged at Sasuke's heart, just as Naruto's had done at their final confrontation.

"I'll be there." Sparkling eyes looked at him with thanks, understanding how hard it was for Sasuke to even think about helping others, let alone doing it. Slipping her small hands through his pale one, Ren stood up lacing her nimble fingers through his calloused ones. With the action, another warm feeling spreads throughout the Uchiha's body.

♪Sairen♪

The doors that lead to Orochimaru's room were the same one Sasuke had opened two years ago. The one resulting in him taking Ren as his "daughter" and finally understanding what torment his father must have gone through. The wooden doors engraved with snakes stood towering before the pair. Ren's maroon yukata had been exchanged for something more traditional for a shinobi to wear. Her outfit in fact matched Sasuke's except for instead of wearing the cream colored haori and purple bow; she wore a rich blue haori tied with black. The moon like hair had been pulled into a high ponytail. Neither one wearing the insignia of Sound, for they weren't shinobi's of the country just allies.

Double checking to make sure Chokuto was strapped to his back, Sasuke eyed the door. Knowing if left to Ren, she would stand there forever; the Uchiha took initiative, pushing the doors open.

Inside the room Orochimaru could be found laying on his large plush bed. Irritated beyond belief that he had been ordered to stay in bed, so the other shinobi's wouldn't find out about his little problem with holding food.

"Ah how nice for you to come Sasuke-kun, Ren-chan." The pleasantries in his voice were false, and all members in the room knew it. The Snake Sannin narrowed his eyes at the girl who resembled her mother Uta more and more each day. Just because the Sannin wasn't everywhere didn't mean he didn't know everything. Oh he knew that Sasuke was treating Ren like his own daughter, and Ren was acting like Sasuke had always been her father. The relationship that the two had created threatened all the plans that Orochimaru had planned, and he be damned if a demonic creature was going to ruin his chances of having the Uchiha as a vessel.

"I've heard some interesting news, Sasuke-kun. It seems like the little fox is closing in on our borders." Sasuke's eyes widened as the hidden message behind the words hit him.

'Naruto…' Naruto was close if not already in Sound Territory, but why? Was he still after Sasuke, driving to bring the Uchiha back?

Unknowingly Sasuke had muttered the name out loud, and Ren had heard. She couldn't help but chirp in curiosity.

"Naruto? As in Uzumaki Naruto? The one Kabbi always says I act like?" Orochimaru slanted eyes, incased in the purple liner, glowed brilliantly. Finally one of his plans was working with out a hitch. Not that his past plans had problems, just the results had never been like he envisioned.

"Why yes Ren-chan, that Naruto. I imagine you've heard plenty about him." Receiving a nod of affirmation, the Sannin's green eyes gave a quick glance to the last Uchiha who while listening, was lost in the thoughts of the blonde.

"How would you feel if you got to fight him?" Ren's eyes widened, her mouth dropped in slack. This was her chance to get back at the blonde for all the things he had done to Sasuke. But those feelings were clouded by a deeper sensation of keeping a promise, and something deep inside her body was yelling at her to take it. Iceberg eyes, filled to the rim with excitement, stared at the older nin beside her, wanting his approval.

"Sasuke-ot…san," quickly covering her slip, knowing it was never a good idea to speak such an endearing word filled with love in the Snake Sannin's presence. "I want to do this. I need to do this." The childlike voice lowering to something more like an adult would speak in. For less than a second the icebergs that were eyes turned completely black, but reverted to there original color quickly.

"Please."

The voice was begging, for Sasuke knew if he said "no" she wouldn't go. Yet the sparkle that had appeared in her eyes was one that he had never seen. Ren was anticipating the battle, wanting to see were she stood when facing one of the greatest shinobi's alive beside the Hokage, Sannin's and a few others.

"Fine. Under the condition though that I go with you." Not carrying that she was being treated like a five year old, when she was in fact eight; Ren shouted out in happiness.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the girl, for the second time that day. If Sasuke didn't come, the Sannin knew that some unpredictable factors would be added. Opening his mouth to protest, a churning in his lower stomach had the Snake Sannin leaping for the toilet, his white hands in close vicinity to his butt.

Ren sniggered as the Snake left the rooms. With his sensei rushing off, the last of the Uchiha's couldn't help but feel like something was off. As if he didn't have the parts to finishing this puzzle.

"Can we get some training in before we have to leave?" The shrill sound of excitement encircled Sasuke. Eyeing the girl once more, eagerness and anticipation swept through every part of her being.

"Hn." Taking his word as a yes, Ren pumped an arm into the air, shouting a 'Yosh.' And because he couldn't smile on the outside, inside his mind, he gave the little girl a small smile. 'If anyone tries to take her away, there going to have to deal with me.'

Patting her head, Ren looked up wondering why he had done that. Seeing no real reason, Ren took it as once of Uchiha Sasuke's weird moments of affection, and took it all in so she could remember the feelings even after he would remove his hand.

A small smile like the one that the Uchiha was to afraid to reveal graced the lips. Bringing her head down her bangs acted like a screen, a wider smile broke and Ren's cheeks deepened to a darker pink, as she thought of the first time he had touched her affectionately, as if she was his daughter.

♫ Flashback♫

The wooden floor creaked noisily as feet struggled to walk a snail's pace and be quite at the same time. The lights from above flickered on and off as thunder rumbled from outside. The floorboards creaked once more, causing the petite figure to wince for it sounded too loud to her ears and she prayed silently that she wasn't disturbing anybody…or anything.

A shiver rippled throughout her body at the thought and it took her every ounce of her energy to keep on moving forward. Something telling her she had to keep on forward and she was going to. Giving a nod in reassurance, she placed on a brave face as her small hands were balled up into fists. Nostrils flared slightly as the scent of cinnamon wafted throughout the air. Pulled by the scent, she moved onward as if in a trance that she could not break out of.

The sound of whispers drawled in the air, the words were muddled out as it echoed about. The young nin couldn't understand or catch a word of what these soft voices were talking about from afar. But the real question was, "Who is there?" and "What are they trying to say?" Stubbornly, she moved forward, not willing to be swayed by her fears and cower. No. She was Ren, the daughter of Uchiha Sasuke! Well...she always saw Sasuke as her father and who ever said she couldn't be his daughter?

Giving another determined nod, she turned a corner and spotted a window. The moon casting out its pale light but unlike normal day today's moon wasn't a milky white. No, instead the color had been replaced by a deadly but transparent rogue color, giving the wooden floors a darker hue. 'Why is the moon red?' Her own thoughts echoed about through her head as she neared the window and stared up at the crimson moon. A feeling of dread came over her and she could here the whispers grow a bit louder.

Spinning around, Ren stared in horror as a small little wind-up fox waddled toward her. It continued to move in silence, save for the shuffled of plastic against wood. Muscles stiffened and she found herself backing against the window. The chill of the glass against her hand made her make a noise in displeasure. She felt trapped and confined as the little wind-up fox moved onward.

The whispers continued to grow louder until it became silent. Eyes widened in fear as time seemed to pause. "Run. Run. You aren't even worth killing," one of the voices from afar mused. The light from the moon outside seemed to burn her skin and the only thing she could do was close her eyes and yell out to the only person she could rely on.

"Sasuke-tousan!"

Ren jerked into an upright position on her bed as sweat ran down her body. Shivering, her eyes stared wildly at the room she was in.

Home.

She was home and safe. Turning her head toward the sleeping figure across the room, she felt a wave of relief pour over her. "I'm safe," she murmured, slipping out of her bed and padded over to Sasuke. Small hands reached out and gently touched Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasuke-tousan, can I sleep with you?" she asked; her voice scratchy from the shock from her dream.

Eyelids slowly opened to stare at the dark ceiling, lips parting to give out a sigh in annoyance. Turning his head to the girl, he was greeted by bright eyes that were filled to the brim with tears. Shifting a bit more to his left, he lifted the covers in a sign for her to enter. Ren hummed in bliss as she was soon in the bed with the covers wrapped tightly around her.

"Bad dream?" Sasuke asked his voice slightly husky from being waken up.

"Hai. I dreamt that those little wind-up toys were after me," Ren murmured as she scooted closer to the older male. Sasuke didn't move, so Ren continued on moving closer to Sasuke's warmth.

"It was just a dream. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow we have a long day."

"I know…but the toy was moving…and it wasn't even wound up. And…the moon…" Ren trailed off as she could feel her eyelids beginning to grow heavy.

"The moon? What of it?" Sasuke yawned as his eyes were already closed as his body was falling quickly back to sleep.

"It was red. Sasuke-tousan…why was the moon red?" Ren murmured before falling asleep. Sasuke's eyes were open once more and his body was now wide awake.

The moon? Red? No…that was impossible. How could a this six year old child, who spent most of her time trapped under ground, be able to even dream of a moon that is red? Sasuke hummed in thought, he would rather not begin to make hasty generalizations. No it was just a coincidence. Just a simple coincidence.

Allowing the sleeping Ren to snuggle up against his chest, his arm reached out and wrapped around her figure. 'It's just a dream…just a dream.'

♫ End of Flashback♫

A sickening feeling grew in Naruto stomach as he leapt from tree to tree. A feeling of fear, something the blonde usually laughed at. But now…he didn't feel like grinning and telling himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. However, if he didn't smile than everyone would worry about him and ask questions.

So instead he wore a mask of bliss that seemed other eyes could tell was forced. A strange kind of pain lingered in the blonde's smile had Sai even commenting about what a horrible actor Naruto was. Naruto reply was silence, ignoring it all and earning a frown from Sakura. It wasn't like Naruto not to bark back a stupid comeback.

Something was wrong.

"Naruto – " Sakura began but was cut off by the sound of something exploding in the distance. Bodies paused, perched on tree branches. Ears strained as they struggled to pinpoint the exact location.

"Come on, let's go," Jiraiya growled out as he dashed out ahead of the group. The others followed afterward, their bodies alert and ready for anything.

♪Sairen♪

Dark onyx eyes stared silently ahead as a lean figure stood up from hunching over. Kabuto had set off an exploding note moments ago, with a purpose and with a smirk on his face. "To lure in the filth."

Sasuke wasn't sure how he felt about the comment and he was glad that he didn't settle on an emotion. Who knew what he would have done if he chose anger as the response. Thought Kabuto wasn't the most annoying problem at the moment. The problem consisted of Orochimaru and Kabuto tagging along to "observe Ren and see if she is worth keeping".

"Ren…remember," Sasuke murmured to the silver-haired girl that was crouched down beside him. Ren turned her head to Sasuke and gave a wide grin; she was excited and pumped up. She wanted to do this. She wanted to do this for Sasuke. Anyone who bothered her father, like this Naruto-character, was going to get a fist in their mouth. Giving a nod in determination, she turned her gaze back to the clearing down below.

"Don't you dare, do anything rash," Sasuke added in a low voice so the Snake Sannin and his lap dog wouldn't hear. Ren gave a small nod as her grin faded into a solemn look.

"They come," Kabuto drawled as he stood on a branch in the distance with his lean body leaning against the bark. A look of content was etched on the medic-nin's face as arms were crossed before his chest. Ren could easily tell anyone who would listen her hatred for the medic nin. The same man who had jerked her out of her mother's arms, and had treated her like a new toy to play with.

She was just an experiment to his eyes and he treated her like one with cold satisfaction. The sound of a twig snapping made all eyes turn to the north, watching a snow-haired male step in. An ebony-haired teen and a bubble-gum-haired kunoichi stepped in seconds afterward. Sasuke felt his breath catch in his throat the moment he saw a blonde-haired teen step in with the same determined look that Ren now wore.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out as his eyes turned upward, feeling a familiar chakra signature. Sasuke just stared in silence as the other members of Naruto's team caught sight of the others.

"Sasuke! Come – " Naruto began but cut himself off. He had a mission to think of Sasuke… would just have to wait. Naruto gave out a chocked cough, the words stuck in his throat.

'_Pup…let me out,'_ a masculine voice rumbled in Ren's mind. Ren blinked in confusion, gripping the branch underneath her tightly.

Who…who what was this voice.

'_Pup…__**release**__ me. Remember your promise. You want to protect Sasuke, yes? Then release me.'_ Ren lightly licked her lips, dropping the defenses around her mind.

"Naruto! This is no time to chat!" Jiraiya growled out and before anyone could blink, the Snake Sannin's lap dog threw out multiple kunai's, aiming for Naruto and his group . Before they could whistle through the air, a powerful wind jutsu was cast, tossing away the weapons like sticks.

All eyes were now on the young girl who stood between the Snake Sannin and Konoha shinobi's. Iceberg eyes once more heavy ebony. Navy-blue charka emitted from her body, and wrapping around to give the faint outline of a dog with two tails. The girl grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth. Power rushing through her veins and her body and Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly in worry.

"You will not be the ones to fight my aniki!" Ren growled out as her grin turning into a sneer.

'_Kit…the smell. This is what I smelled from before._'

'What is it?' Naruto questioned the fox as he felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his neck.

'_The five-tails…and it is as stubborn as ever.'_

'Then this…is what the Akatsuki are looking for, right?'

'_Correction, Kit, this is what the Akatsuki are hunting for. My oto.' _

TBC….

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Lxie- So can anyone guess what the toy and the red moon stood for?? If ya can we might give you a treat. Anyway thanks for reading the newest chapter and don't forget to tell us you love it! See ya next time.


	3. In A Fight Who Really Wins?

Pheme: So Lxie is away right now and it's mine turn to chat. Yahoo! Now I want to thank all the people who have review, you have no idea how happy I was and that you liked our story. Uhm…this chapter was hard to write since it's always hard to write battle scene so I hope you all like it so much and love me that you will review. Don't worry I'll tell Lxie you review for her too

"Blah" – Talking

'Blah'- Thinking

'_Blah'_- Kyuubi or Houkou talking

♪Sairen♪- scene change

♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback

_**Definitions**_-

**Oto**-younger brother

**Jinchuuriki**- demon container

**Tousan**-father

**Houkou-** Five Tailed Beast, God of Illusions

**Inu**- dog

**Neko**- cat

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Chapter III- In A Fight Who Really Wins?

Blues eyes widening in shock from hearing the kitsune's words. 'Kyuubi's oto?'

The girl standing in front of him; with moon colored haired swaying from one side to the other, skinned slighlty tanned a feat impossible if she was actually on the Snakes side and living underground, and eyes darker than a moonless night, this girl was the jinchuuriki for Kyuubi's brother. And the same girl held a look of deep hatred aimed directly for the blonde jinchuuriki.

"Aniki, you look horrible. How pitiful, the _King_ trapped." The words whispered by the girl's lips were made for Naruto's ears alone. A secret conversation so the blonde could take in all the sneers and hate radiating from each word.

'Kyuubi what is she talking about?' Naruto asked, yet no answer was produced. The kitsune laying dormant inside, staying silent unsure of how to answer the question. Seconds passed before one simple word resonated through out Naruto's mind.

'_This.'_

The single word filled with regret, had images flashing after. Images of a bloody and grotesque battle, only seen through the eyes of the kitsune. Grass growing to try and touch the sky was smashed down by two sets of paws, one belonging to a neko and the other an inu, their size no less threatening than the kitsune's. Ebony and green eyes filled with determination, had their owners launch out to attack the crimson body of the kitsune, only to be blocked by the power the King held.

Minutes crawled by, teeth snarling, desiring the feeling of flesh, but never being able to capture it. Claws extending to pierce thick skin. Chakra wilting after each use. Chest's panting for more oxygen. All except the kitsune were injured. The neko sporting a gash across his neck, and if he hadn't been saved by his shinigami owner he would have succumb to the same fate he had control over.

Death.

Compared to the neko, the inu stood his ground, still wanting to fight. His mouth opened, shouting words to his opponent, the wound he had received dripping from the coat to splashing the green grass. The ebony eyes stared into the scarlet eyes of the kitsune, promising defeat.

"NARUTO!"

The shout took the ball of sunshine away from the memories of the demon, bringing him back to reality and the fight. Blinking blues eyes took in the attack the other Sound nin's had proceeded with, cued by the blonde's name. Pushing against the ground, the blonde nin jumped a few feet back, milliseconds before several kunai's hit the space he had been moments ago.

"I said this was **my **fight!" Ebony eyes hardening by the disregard for the command. In a flash Ren disappeared from everyone's view. Her opponent changing momentarily, as her nail extended into claws, cutting and ripping into every Sound nin who had dared attack what belonged to her.

Bodies hit the ground one after another. Sound nin's fearing for their own lives while they watched their comrade's fall in a pile of blood. When the last body fell, Ren stood up from the half-way kneeling position she had fallen into after her final kill. The tie meant to hold the moon-kissed hair up had disappeared during the kills, creating a curtain for the girl. Blood splats were all over the young body, matting the hair and ruining all chances of the girl looking innocent.

Naruto couldn't help but pause in breathing when the moon-like hair swayed, parting to reveal the young girls face. The splatters of blood had not missed even her cheeks, dark eyes never turning away from the blonde's gaze. When small fingers rose to meet pink lips, Naruto remembered to breathe. Wishing he hadn't, his stomach cramped, ready to spew everything across the forest floor at the sight of the girl licking the blood off her fingers as if a type of sweet.

"Your turn now aniki." At the words Naruto froze the same way he had during his first C-ranked mission when the Mist shinobi's bear like attack was seconds away from piercing his skin. At that time it was been Sasuke who had saved him. But this time Naruto, who was no longer a genin but a jounin and ANBU member, had no idea who was going to save him.

And the only thing scaring him more was the fact he wanted to be saved. He couldn't fight such a girl, one who had no idea what she was doing but was strangely pleased by her actions.

♪Sairen♪

Jiraiya could hardly stand to watch the girl, who wouldn't even be considered a shinobi in Konoha, kill as if it was the most natural thing. The Sannin watched his and the Fifth's protégé freeze, unable to do anything but watch the girl continue to clean her hands of the metallic tasting fluid.

From the corner of his eyes, the Sannin saw his old team mate, his old friend, calm and watching from the branch from a tree. The Snake Sannin had either not noticed the white-haired man or was simply ignoring him. Maybe deep inside Jiraiya was just like Naruto, wanting to bring back his friend, but unlike Naruto Jiraiya had given up a long time ago. Closing his eyes, the Frog Sannin willed away the memories of his past. 'When it comes down to it, killing missing-nin's is always more important than completing a mission. Even if they were once your friends.' The words that the Sannin had once told to Naruto floated by in is mind, not wanting to leave.

"Time to face my demon." Taking a deep breathe and opening his eyes, Jiraiya turned to Orochimaru, hands rapidly creating seals. At the sudden increase in chakra output Orochimaru moved his head so his yellowish eyes slit down the middle so he would be able to take in his old friend. With a sneer, hands paler than snow flew into seals.

"Futon: Daitoppa no Jutsu!" (Wind Release: Great Breathing)

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame)

At the screams all eyes turned to the ex-teammates who had commenced their attack. Wild winds left the spot the Snake Sannin was standing in, ready to demolish the Frog Sannin and everything else. But the fire that had been released from Jiraiya's mouth stopped the winds goal by mixing with its ally element creating a bigger ball of flames. Heat emanated from the huge ball, sweat powering from all who were around. The searing heat seemed to last forever before the ball finally running out of air collapsed.

♪Sairen♪

The sudden attack between the two ex-teammates fueled the need to fight. Receiving the affirmation to attack from their leader, the remaining Sound nin's jumped from their hiding spot, tossing shuriken, kunais and anything else at the shinobi's from Konoha, all except Naruto.

Each person dogged the attacks, retaliating with their own. Sakura punched the ground with a chakra infused hand, cracking its thick surface causing stones to jut out into the air, hitting whatever nin was in their way. Her green eyes watching Naruto who was still having an intimidating duel with the young girl. The pink haired kunoichi knew what state Naruto was in, but like everything else the blonde would want to deal with it and face it himself. Punching the ground once more, the few shinobi's that had been stupid enough to try to attack her on the ground slipped through the cracks, crushed by the weight of the rocks.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Kabuto sneaking past to go and help with the fight between Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Grinding her teeth from the knowledge that the Frog Sannin would soon be overpowered by the deadly power Kabuto possessed. She had watched him fight before and even Tsunade had warned her about the lethal power that could easily maim, or worse execute. Kabuto was not one she should mess with…

…at least not alone.

"Sai!" Sakura called, turning around the see her dark haired team mate standing in the same place before, watching his ink creatures attack any nin attempting to send an attack his way.

Eyes the same color as Sasuke's met her own, before even allowing him to make a comment Sakura jerked her head to the side motioning to follow the silver-head medic nin.

Leaping into the air, Sakura twisted around her gaze meeting with the remaining Sound nin. Reaching into the pouch at her side, she drew several kunais, already prepared with sacks filled with explosive tags. Hurling all the kunais but one, Sakura watched as the weak ties around the sacks unraveled, releasing the tags. With a smirk the pink haired kunoichi threw the kunai she had purposely kept in her hand. The tag on the recent kunai exploded almost instantly, creating a cause and effect cycle as one after another of her tags blew up, trapping the Sound nin in such a destructive explosion, those who did survive would be in agony wishing for death.

"Good one, hag. Next time don't try to hit me though." Sai's comment had the kunoichi realize his arrival. Not wishing to waste her energy by responding, Sakura just placed the comment in the corner of her mind as a reminder for punishment.

With quick hands seal and the use of ink, another ink creature was created this time in the appearance of a dog that could compete with Akamaru size. Sending it forward, Sai caught a glimpse of white, black and purple. Shifting his gaze he took in the Uchiha who was carefully watching the silent duel between the bloody girl and Naruto. He raised an eyebrow to the distracted Uchiha, trying to figure out why the to-be vessel wasn't helping in the fight.

Hearing the sound of ink meeting the ground, Sai drew his attention away from Sasuke, only to be replaced by Kabuto's lanky form; who was holding his arm, covered in ink and blood, tightly to his chest.

Sai smiled; pleased his ink hadn't been wasted.

♪Sairen♪

'_Get a hold of your self Kit!'_

'Her eyes. They're worse than Garra's.'

Minutes had passed since Naruto had become frozen in his place. He had heard the shouts of attack, felt the heat from both Jiraiya's and later Sakura's, but his eyes never left the endless orbs. They were luring.

"God you're a bore. I had never expected you to be this way. Can't even escape your seal and talk to me, have you turned that weak!" The final words shouted in rage.

'It's not me he wants. It's you Kyuubi. He wants to fight you.'

'_Houkou is that way. A stubborn mutt if I have ever seen one. You have to get it back inside its seal or who knows what will happen to the girl.'_

Naruto curled his hand tightly, nails cutting crescent shape marks into his skin. 'Kuso.' Closing his eyes, the image of the bloody girl vanishing and the blonde took a deep breathe. Wasting moments, in truth he didn't have. 'I need to stop acting like a genin. I'm a shinobi. I have a mission.'

"I'm not going to fight you." Taking another deep breathe, Naruto opened his eyes revealing cerulean orbs brighter than any gem. Ren's eyes widened at the words, the sneer turning into a gapping mouth.

Seconds passed before laughter erupted from the mouth of the young girl, her body curling as the sound escaped. While her words before had been low with aggressive emotions, this laughter was light.

"You're…you're not like Kyuubi, but yet you are." Giggles broke her words, but hatred still filled her eyes. "You're as foolish as he was." The laughter died, words once more laced with malice. Shifting her stance, Ren raised her clawed hands, pushing of the ground to place a hit on the blonde's body.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release Fire Dragon Flame)

The yell was the only warning given before the fireball created by the jutsu hit the closing space between Naruto and Ren. Both jinchuuriki's forced to jump back, unless wishing to be captured by the jutsu.

Seconds ticked by, the fire gnawing on the grass and the sound of fights and screams making the few seconds seem to last forever. But the second the fire was gone, Naruto began to wish it was still there. Sasuke's back covered by the white haori was facing him. The last Uchiha's body so close yet so far away.

"Ren." The name coming from the Uchiha's mouth made Naruto curious, acting like a genin again when Sasuke would ignore him, the blonde moved to see past his ex-teammate. Blue eyes widening when the girl's eyes turned from the ebony color to the color of icebergs, all the hatred evaporating to be replaced by what Naruto could only call love.

"Sasuke-tou…" The instant the name left the girls lips, her eyes reverted to the ebony color, hardening.

"Uchiha. Don't get in my way."

"Hn." The dark eyes of the girl narrowed even more, glaring at the Uchiha to make him back down, momentarily forgetting it was the Uchiha who had taught her how to glare.

"You truly are a failure as an experiment." The sudden voice behind Ren had the young girl's body straighten, and tense automatically. The clone who had spoken emerging from out of the tree, the sneer Orochimaru wore already placed.

"You have become a liability, Ren-chan. You should feel so special that I would use such a special attack on you." Pale hands worked through the seals quickly, and with the last seal the clone straightened his hands targeting the girl. Hundreds of snakes erupted from the arms hidden by cloth, rushing to their prey straight ahead.

Leaping away from the snakes and Sasuke, Ren's hands flew into seals calling for winds to cut down the attacking reptiles. The navy-blue chakra which had encircled the girl turned paler, almost snow like, as a third tail sprouted from the back. The scream of agony drowned by the fights. The jutsu created was twice as powerful, cutting down half of the snakes and destroying the clone, but the attack left Ren gasping the air.

Stumbling to the ground, the moon-colored hair girl rose confidently. Panting, she ignored the slithers and hisses of the snakes to capture Naruto's gaze again.

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but past Ren he saw Orochimaru performing another set of hand seals. A shiver ran down his spine, his eyes fading into the blood red eyes of the Sharigan. The last Uchiha had made a silent vow to protect Uta's daughter, his daughter. The only happiness he had been able to feel in a long time, were someone loved him without knowing anything about him. The love was unconditional, and demanded nothing.

And even though Sasuke wouldn't dare say it, he cared for Ren too. Which was the only reason he was willing to go against his sensei, after all he had learned all he really needed from the Snake Sannin. Mentally nodding, Sasuke moved away from Ren's battle, rushing to join the fight between the two Sannin's. Chakra running down his hand towards his palm, the Chidori would soon be hungering for another taste of flesh

♪Sairen♪

Chakra moved over Kabuto's body, healing each mark that proved he had been hit. Forcing more chakra into his hand, he expertly dodged the ink dogs attack, running in a zig-zag formation to reach the pink-haired medic nin. If he could just reach her he would be able to cut some of the tendons and muscles in her arms, stopping the enormous strength cracking the ground.

His broken arm slowly repairing for the third time since the ink dog had bitten into it. His moves had been sloppy after that first attack, because of the ink which had poisoned him once it had come into contact with his blood stream. But once it had been cleared he had almost been able to kill the other medic nin, before being stopped by a large ink snake biting his leg and wrapping its body around the silver-haired medic nin.

But this time, things would go differently.

Raising his hand, he brought it down swiftly, passing the kunoichi's left arm. But instead of hearing the cry of pain, the poofing sound of a replacement jutsu rang. Turning, a tree trunk sat in the place of the pink-haired medic. Gritting his teeth, Kabuto eyed the surrounding area waiting for the next attack, which suddenly came after another poof had a stone transforming into the kunoichi he had been after. She flew at him, her fist encased with chakra, hitting Kabuto's cheek and mouth dead on.

From the force of the attack Kabuto flew a few yards, attacked again from a different ink creature the instant his body stopped moving. Kabuto could only pray that Orochimaru was handling the situation better.

♪Sairen♪

The air hissed with tension as bodies were erect and alert. Eyes were wide as the pupils were dilated, soaking in the light that filtered through the canopy of emerald leaves. Sasuke's muscles flexed and his hands flew together and he began to perform the seals for a fire jutsu. Before he could get the last seal done, a sharp shooting pain gripped Sasuke's neck. Hands stopped and immediately went to his neck. The seal was warm and moving across his skin like a contagious disease.

It was strange, having the seal act up like this. Sasuke had trained himself to overpower the seal and use it to his advantage whenever he wished, but today he held no power. Sasuke's eyes flickered over to the Snake Sannin who was poised on his branch and wearing an annoyed look. Eyes were directed to Sasuke, but the anger wasn't. Instead, Sasuke suddenly understood the hatred that was blossoming for a certain moon-haired girl. Already Orochimaru was blaming Ren for having his future vessel go against him.

Sasuke could hear the Snake Sannin's voice whisper in his mind as the seal began to crawl all over his back and arms. Grunting in pain, his hands made a few gestures before the Chidori was soon out. Over the years of training the last Uchiha had been able to develop a Chidori that suited him. With the new jutsu, he could command the electricity to become anything he wished; it could even become protective barrier. The sound of a thousand chirping bird filled the air and the dark-haired nin was off.

Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise seeing Sasuke charged at him, eyes focused and clear. Bracing himself, the Frog Sannin began to do his own set of seals when Sasuke vanished before his eyes. A howl of pain soon erupted, making any brave birds about flock off in a heartbeat. Jiraiya jerked his head to the left to see Orochimaru clutching his side as Sasuke was now on the ground, panting heavily.

Golden eyes were alive in rage, watching Sasuke body swaggering forward the seal sucking his energy out. "Come Kabuto…it's time we retreat for now," Orochimaru hissed at Kabuto, who had appeared at the Snake Sannin's screams. The medics hands wrapped around the body of the Snake Sannin, and in haste darted off with the bleeding Snake Sannin.

No one following the pair.

♪Sairen♪

Ren's eyes were now focused on Sasuke as the Five Tails gave out a soft growl at Naruto. "We'll finish this off later, oto," the beast growled feeling Ren once more take control. Ebony eyes slipping back to iceberg colored one. The eyes watching Sasuke try to stand, tears on the bridge of spilling.

"Sasuke-tousan!" Ren cried out, tears slipping past the lids and running down her cheeks. She broke into a run, rushing to reach the body falling backwards. The seal continuing to cover the Uchiha's body, his lips mumbling words to the girl who had fallen to her knees beside him. Sasuke strained to keep awake, his vision blurring forming a fuzzy shape that could no longer be called human.

"Ren…"

Jiraiya sighed and jumped off the branch he was on, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Fate sure had a funny way of twisting things around. "Don't worry…he just passed out," he assured Ren who had wrapped her hands around the Uchiha shaking him wildly. Crouching down, the white-haired Sannin moved the girl hands away, pressing his fingers lightly unto the boy's hot skin. Humming in thought, the seal began to slowly retreat back from the touch of the Sannin.

The blonde blinked, his world running in slow motion. The girl, Sasuke had called Ren, leaving the fight; Sasuke attacking his own sensei. The movement of his own sensei broke Naruto out of his immobile stage, making his way hastily to Sasuke, the blonde heart beating wildly in his chest. This reminded him too much of their mission on the bridge with Haku and Zabuza. Naruto's reactions back then were the same as now, he though Sasuke was dead all over again. Sasuke would he had trained for the last few years to drag back to Konoha couldn't be dead. Sasuke just couldn't be dead.

"Sasuke!" The shout of her father's name, made Ren turn and glare at the blonde, but Naruto didn't realize, his world revolving on the state of his friend. "He isn't hurt is he?"

"No, Naruto. Just calm down, he is fine. I'll even have Sakura come over and check him out." Letting the words sink into his student, Jiraiya's dark gaze turned to the girl in front of him. The tears she had shed for the Uchiha mixing in with the blood of the nin's, producing an eerie affect.

"Now, little miss, who exactly are you?" Iceberg colored eyes turning away from their watch on Sasuke's body, met his gaze.

"It doesn't matter. You only came here to find a vessel correct?" Ignoring the widening eyes that gave an affirmation, Ren continued. "You won't find such a vessel. Orochimaru-sama created all those rumors. He wanted to draw in his enemies and fresh bodies. He needed new test subjects, and what better way then to offer something that isn't here." Silence followed Ren's proclamation. Her hand reaching out to grasp her father's hand, her skin dark compared to his own.

"What?!" Two sets of eyes turned to find Sakura and Sai, the ink shinobi's arm wrapped around her shoulder supporting his weight, appear from the dense trees. The moment her green eyes took in Sasuke's prone form, the medic nin dropped the injured nin to rush to her ex-teammates side.

"Is he okay? How's his seal? What the hell happened?" Before her questions could be answered, Ren's mouthed opened releasing a scream instead of words. The moon-haired girl sat there, her eyes slightly closed form the pain, her chest moving rapidly. Hunching over, the girl coughed blood dripping from her lips. Weakly dulled iceberg eyes moved to capture cerulean blue ones, with a final glare, the girl joined her father in sleep.

Falling into medic mode, Sakura pushed Jiraiya and Naruto out of the way, checking first the sleeping girl before moving unto Sasuke. Minutes passed and Naruto just stood there waiting. Pushing her weight from her knees to the balls of her feet, Sakura wiped away the slight sweat she had gathered from the fight and the heat the sun provided.

"They're in a stable condition, but I would feel a lot better if we could get them back to Konoha. After all…maybe then we can get some real answers." The last thoughts seemed to have come out of no where, but seeing Jiraiya nod in agreement, made Sakura glad she had said it. Turning to Naruto, Sakura opened her mouth to ask the blonde to carry one of the two, but stops herself. The look in his eyes was unexplainable. Neither relief nor sadness.

"Jiraiya-sama please take Sasuke-kun and I'll take the girl." Nodding, the Sannin picked up the sleeping boy; rotating his body and walking the same path that had lead the group into the fight. Struggling, Sakura picked up the girl, thankful she didn't weigh much. For even though Sai had taken most of the damage Kabuto had directed to the duo, her hands were in pain from the several times she had punched the ground and she had little chakra left.

Thinking of Sai, Sakura remembered the comment he had made during the fight. Itching to make him pay, it was when she turned to see Sai still sitting on the ground and Naruto staring at the empty space that Sasuke had been, Sakura decided to have some pity for the boy. After all she had dropped him the moment she had seen Sasuke, and Sai had protected her from many of Kabuto's attack. Sighing, Sakura followed the Sannin, the small girl clutching her shirt tighter, creating a small smile on the medic's face.

♪Sairen♪

Seeing the medic-nin follow the Sannin, Sai finally stood up, approaching the blonde hesitantly. Placing a hand the blond's clothed shoulder; Sai looked upwards, wanting to see the clear blue sky.

"Shouldn't you be happy? The Uchiha is coming back to Konoha after all." Receiving no response, Sai removed his eyes staring at the greenery of the trees to see Naruto eyes taking him in. Raising an eyebrow at the blonde, Naruto just shook his head.

Understanding his friend didn't want to talk, Sai veered following the same path as the medic and the Sannin. Or at least Sai was planning to, but the movement had him stumbling and locking his lips to keep the pain in. 'Stupid old hag.'

Warms hands gripped underneath his arms, swinging one of Sai's arms over the blondes shoulder. Leaning some weight unto the blonde, the pair continued on their way in silence.

TBC…..

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Pheme: Yahoo! Another chapter done. I really hope you all like this. And don't forget to review cause those things really make my day. We should have an update in about a week, so check up. And if you didn't read above, there will be some fan service involving the two boys we love so much. Just sucks that we can't have a lemon in the next one, but it is too soon.

:Sigh:

Anyway Arigato and Ja ne.


	4. When The Price Of Caring Comes To

Pheme: So my co-writer has left me so thats why I havent been able to update. So I finally found a new one so I'd like to introduce ebonywolf. I'd like to thank all those who reviewed I loved reading them, and thanks for all the critics and love reading both helps my writing. And becuase i havent updated in a while three chapters will be posted today. Enjoy!

"Blah" – Talking

'Blah'- Thinking

'Blah'- Kyuubi or Houkou talking

♪Sairen♪- scene change

♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback

**Definitions-**

**Oto**-younger brother (and yes it can also be used as the short name for the Sound Village, but it also can mean this)

**Jinchuuriki**- demon container

**Hitai-ate**- forehead protector

**Tousan**-father

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Chapter IV: When The Price Of Caring Comes To Collect

Soft breaths escaped salmon-colored lips, olive hued skin glowing under the sun's gentle radiance. Light lashes contrasting heavily against the soft skin while, petite fingers curled around the edge of a white bed sheet. Crisp sheets framing the child's figure, creating a visible outline of it. The sheets following each movement made by the small chest, raising and falling in sync with rapid heartbeats.

_Bhu-thump. _

_Bhu-thump. _

_Bhu-thump._

Birds chirped outside, greeting each other and the rising sun. The moon still hung in the sky, but with each ray, it was slowly fading into the background of teal. A few splotches of dove-white could be seen on the sky, but they showed no sign of any coming rain. One of the clouds fluttered, hiding the dieing moon from view like a demon would conceal his true nature. It is only second nature to hide hideous intentions behind a mask of indifference. If one didn't, then any future plan or motive will surely burn in a basin of fire.

The petite figure twitched in her dream. This time she wasn't haunted by the strange colored moon but instead by memories. Bittersweet memories that stung her tongue and made tears bead in the corner of the eyes. Memories from when she had only been five years old…the time when they had taken her away.

She remembered how she huddled in the cold corner of the cell as her mother, Uta, bravely stood protecting her. The girl remembered how the cell door screeched painfully when Kabuto had opened the door. The smell wafting from his form was too clean, a mixture of latex gloves and rubbing alcohol. The girl remembered clearly how he had grabbed her roughly by the wrist, his grip bruising the tender limb as he jerked her around like a child would to a rag doll. Yet the difference between the silver-haired medic nin and a child was Kabuto wore a satisfied smirk while he watched the young girl squirm as the mother cried out in distress. The sound of cries and shouts filled the air and the young girl slammed her eyes shut, in attempt to block it all out.

'_Pup…stop it. Wake up.'_

Iceberg eyes fluttered open and stared silently at the whitewashed ceiling. Blinking in confusion, she felt tears roll down the side of her face and fall into the shell of her ears. Quickly rubbing them away in embarrassment, and because they made her itch, she stifled an oncoming troubled noise. Slowly sitting up, her palms met with a soft mattress. A bed…was she in Sasuke's bed? Turning her head to her side, she found nothing but the edge of the bed and a polished wood floor. Back at home…there were never wooden floors.

Jerking her head around, Ren found herself being watched by many eyes, all hiding behind painted masks. The stares were filled with curiosity while still holding caution. "Sasuke…" The whisper hardly loud enough to be met by anyone's ears, but it was enough for young girl to realize the Uchiha was not visible among the crowd that watched her. A rush of fear poured into her body at the realization her protector - her father wasn't there.

Where was Sasuke? Why was she here? Who were these people? Finding no answer in her mind, her tiny hand clutched the sheet tighter, creating wrinkles. Her heart began to increase in speed, her breathing suddenly becoming ragged.

The masks became a blur of white tainted by colors. The stares turning into ones of hatred. Her mind remembering the times Kabuto would take her into his lab, poke needles into her body. Ren's body tensed, thinking of all the things these people could be doing to her father. 'They took me away…they took me away from Sasuke-tousan!' Ren wildly thought, and with the conclusion at hand the one nerve controlling her anger snapped.

Her body lunged out of the pristine sheets, using the bed as leverage to give her more distance and power. The moon-like hair flowing behind the girl, as if the hair was like a river of silver. The tresses following as the small body attacked the closest person. Nails dulled by training struck out, lips drawn back to show the two rows of sharp teeth with canines protruding more than usual. She needed to get away from these strangers. She needed to get back to Sasuke. Bare feet slapped against the wooden floor, small hands were balled into fists ready to strike again if necessary.

The noise of the door swinging open caught Ren's attention, and ignoring the masked people in the room, her legs pushed forward to the door. A solitary figure standing between her freedom and finding Sasuke. Her fists tightened even more, cold eyes running over the body looking for a weak point. At the sudden sight of blonde hair, Ren zoned in on the face, the only one in the room not covered, and the brightest pair of blue eyes looked back to her. This was the one from before. The one who had called out Sasuke's name! He was…

…Naruto Uzumaki.

Giving out a soft growl, she pulled her right fist pack before darting at the male with all the strength her body could muster.

Seeing the approaching fist, Naruto moved out of the way with ease, letting the attack only meet air. "Wait! We're just trying to help you." Naruto shouted trying to capture the attention of the girl. Overlooking the shouts, Ren kept throwing her fist towards Naruto. Fingers grasping rough feeling shirt, had her eyes widening in victory.

Clawing at the blonde, she felt Naruto struggle to get her off of him. Evading his attempts, she instead pulled her fist back, preparing to ram it against the blonde's cheek. Bringing it forward, a calloused hand met the fist, wrapping around her hand tightly to not let anymore damage occur. Not that much had been done anyway.

Blinking in confusion, Ren turned her head to find the person responsible for blocking her attack, and found a dark-haired male with milky-colored eyes. The young jinchuuriki noticing that no pupils could be seen in the male's eyes.

"Let go!" She cried out in frustration, her body twisting to the left. One hand was still clutching to the blondes shirt, and the other latched onto this male. And Ren did the only thing she could think of: she began to claw and kick everything.

A grunt in annoyance left the dark-haired male when one of her kicks hit and before he was able to grab her roughly by the shoulders, Ren arched her back and proceeded to flip backwards. Her foot purposely ramming with the underside of the blonde male's chin, soon freeing her from both. Landing on her feet, she staggered onto her legs, weak from the constant days of staying in the bed and sleeping. With legs still unused to walking, much less fighting, the moon-haired girl lost her balance quickly, shortly finding herself on her butt. Unable to resist, she looked up to see an annoyed looking shinobi accompanied by Naruto, who was rubbing the place her kick had hit.

Without a second thought, she scrambled to her feet, straining against her weak legs, and heading toward the door. It had been left open and she could easily leave and search for Sasuke. The sound of a low growl had the girl pause mid-step to turn her head to the large white dog curled up in the corner. Ren could feel her own hackles rise at the stare the large dog was giving her. Biting her lip, she shook her head quickly, removing all thoughts of fleeing from the immense creature. Refusing to stand down, the moon-haired girl prowled towards the dove-colored mutt, baring her teeth.

A low feral growl escaped the small lips. Akamaru widened his lips as if sneering at the girl, before responding with a soft bark in warning. Taken back at the response, Ren's icebergs eyes connected with the warm honey brown ones. No feelings of disgust or hate radiated from the dog, instead warmth, power and protectiveness was being spread out. The harsh icebergs eyes grew warm and a small smile spread out across the girl's lips. A soft bark was returned, and what could only be taken for a dog's laughter was released from Akamaru's mouth. The tense atmosphere slowly diminishing into one of confusion and humor.

Sai, who had decided not to take any part in the brawl stood from his spot at the corner and was at Naruto's side within seconds. Humming in amusement as the blonde nursed his chin and the girl who was playing with one of Akamaru's large paws gave out another soft bark.

"She's a bitch." Naruto gave out a heavy glare at Sai who seemed to have no idea what he just said. 'He could just say 'dog'…bastard,' the blonde's mind grumbled.

The barks and playful growls filled the air. Kiba stayed at his place, leaning against the wall in silence. His dark eyes watching intently over his companion and the girl who the dog had taken a liking too.

"Oi Kiba, any idea what they are saying?" The dark-haired man moved his gaze from the pair to his blonde friend. Smiling in his usual wolf like grin, Kiba pondered on whether or not he should tell the truth or freak the blonde out.

"Just something about the stupidity of foxes and how it's much more fun hunting them then listening to them talk."

"What did you say dog-breathe?"

"Yeah heard me BA-KA."

Sighs were released from all over the room, as the two elite shinobi's used their fist to convoy what there minds couldn't.

♪Sairen♪

Sakura hurried across the hospitals halls. The last few days finally taking their toll on her exhausted body.

'It's bad enough we used all of our chakra to come back with her in two days when it had taken us five to get to the Sound Country, but with Sasuke and the girl in such a weak state…I haven't had sleep for the last seventy-two hours! First Sasuke's seal goes wild trying to take over his body, and when we finally are able to stabilize him to the point were he should have complete control of the seal. The girl who was with him decides to go into cardiac arrest, and her chakra fluctuating so many times, no one knew what was going on!'

Taking a deep breath, Sakura tried to remain calm, not wanting to think of everything else she had been forced to take care of, including healing Sai who wouldn't stop complaining of how she had dropped him to go to the "pathetic Uchiha" and a fretting Naruto who she had ended up just hitting over the head, telling him that Sasuke was fine. Regretting it only seconds later when the blonde decided not to leave the last Uchiha's side for the last two days

Just making matter worse, the moment the group carrying Sasuke and the girl, called Ren, arrived at the gates of Konoha, members of the ANBU had tried to kill Sasuke at sight, never caring that he had been hanging on to life by a thin thread. And when Sakura was finally able to get Sasuke and Ren into a stable state, did she hear that rumors were already going on about Sasuke returning, and the little girl being his daughter

'His daughter…Ren had called him tousan. Could Sasuke really have a daughter?' Shaking her head at the ridiculous thoughts of the anti-social Sasuke trying to raise a girl, Sakura turned the corner expecting to her the heavenly silence that came with every hospital. Curses and barks filled her ears, her mind alerting the medic kunoichi of the headache that would soon come.

Pausing in front of the door that held Ren, all the noises were resonating from this room. Gripping the handle tightly, Sakura prayed for all the things she didn't want to be behind the door. Sliding the door open with a loud bang, all eyes shifty turned to the intruder. At first the eyes held the preparation to attack, but once seeing the look grazing the pink-haired medic nin's face, the eyes were filled with fear.

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura took it all in. Ren sitting on top of Akamaru playfully was tugging the dove colored coat, Naruto's fist on Kiba's face and vice versa, Neji calmly standing near his ANBU squad and Sai watching humorously at the pair of shinobi idiots. 'Damn you Kami! Couldn't you just listen to me for once?!' Inner Sakura yelled into the dark sky. Gritting her teeth, Sakura did the exact opposite of her counterpart.

"What the hell is going on in here? Who's barking? Naruto, Kiba why are you fucking fighting! We are in a hospital damn it! Do you have any respect for the sickly?!" Sakura bellowed out, a hypocrite to her one words.

"Hehe…Sakura-chan. You see…well Ren kinda went out of control and then…yeah…" With a wide grin, Naruto rubbed the back of his head, all in attempt to avoid his teammate's deadly fists.

"Don't blame things on the poor innocent girl Naruto!" Quicker than most could see, Sakura brought her fist down on the blonde, a cry of pain escaping his lips. A loud bark had green eyes turning to the side, were Ren sat on top of Akamaru laughing, while pointing to the complaining blonde. A frown quickly found a way on her face as she walked over. Her right hand still in a fist and before Ren could turn her head up, a fist met with the top of her head.

"Itaii!" Ren cried out as her hands went up to rub her abused head. "Hey what was that for, you ugly lady!?"

Before Sakura could open her mouth and retaliate, the unnoticed curtain blocking the other patient's bed moved to the side. Revealing a half dressed Sasuke, the pants provided by the hospital low on his hips and the top discarded to show the lean muscles, a result of training for all those years. Leaning against the wall, the sun filtered through the window gave his body a soft glow, as if he was a god sent down from the heavens. The dark hair ruffled from sleep and the eyes half-opened, as if satisfied. This was the look all of the fan girls had dreamed about since they were young, one they had missed by being too frightened to come into the hospital.

"Ren…must you always be so loud?" Ren twisted her body, her eyes widening when they fixed unto the Uchiha's form. A large grin spread through her face, scrambling off Akamaru, standing weakly on her own legs.

"Gomen, Sasuke-tousan." Ren laughed. At the release of a heavy sigh from Sasuke's lips, Ren pouted, her eyes downcast. Slyly lifting her eyes, still pretending to be upset, a hint of a smile graced the Avenger's face, spreading a warm feeling throughout the girl's body. The warmth leaving the moment the Uchiha's eyes flickered to the golden-haired jinchuuriki, who was standing quietly at the corner, unsure of what to say. Ren hummed in disappointment, her lips growing into a bigger pout at the attention the blonde was receiving. Moving away from the dove-colored canine, the moon-haired jinchuuriki found herself confronted by Sai.

"From the guess of it…you probably have a penis. Congratulations," Sai mused, lightly raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Ren just tilted her head to the left in curiosity, "What's that?"

Sai sighed, crouching down as Ren followed suit. "Alright…you better listen because I won't repeat myself," Sai whispered softly, Ren nodding her eyes sparkling with curiosity, her ears ready to listen intently to ever word from the half-clad shinobi.

♪Sairen♪

Naruto was puzzled. He dreamt dreams of him finding Sasuke and finally being able to talk to him. It came out easy and smoothly…but now Naruto suddenly felt his words choked in his throat. A part of him wanted to go up to Sasuke and the other part wanted to just leave. 'Come on, Naruto! Just talk to him.' The golden-haired nin watched Sasuke take a step forward before stopping.

"Why did you bring me here?" Sasuke asked, the tension held in the air finally cracked. Naruto frowned and lightly gave out a scoff in return.

"I brought you here because it's your home."

"I have other priorities to think about first than being back here."

"Priorities? Sasuke, this is your home! How can you say that being back here isn't important? You're out of Orochimaru's clutches! Stay here!"

"I am not out of his clutches. There are still things I need to do, Naruto."

"Like what? Revenge? Sasuke, you can have a new life and stay here. A clean slate and all!"

"I rather live the life I have now. What I wish to do is none of your business."

"That's not true! It is my business!" Naruto growled out, the two unknowingly had gotten closer suddenly finding themselves face-to-face. Sasuke remained silent, his brows furrowing together in frustration. The sound of Ren in the background giggling and clapping her hands could be heard, but no one paid attention. Sasuke gave out a snarl in frustration, seeing that Naruto wasn't going to back down.

"You're the same as how I –" Sasuke began, closing his eyes in annoyance. Before being able to continue, he was cut off. The words dieing at his throat by the chaste touch of warm lips.

"Sasuke-tousan! Sasuke-tousan! Guess what I learned!" Ren chirped, her arms tightly around Sasuke's neck from her lunge. Hearing no response, she frowned and jumped off his back. "Sasuke-tousan!" she cried out, placing her hands on her hips. Moving to the side to discover why her father wasn't responding, her jaw dropped at the site. Instead of seeing Sasuke still frowning, the lips had been shoved against Naruto's. "Oops," she murmured, realizing what she had done when she had lunged at Sasuke, moving his body the few centimeters it needed to attach to the lips of the blonde.

The voice filled with guilt broke Sasuke from the daze brought on by the lips. His hands coming back to life suddenly, hastily pushing away the red-faced Naruto. Wiping his mouth with the back of his pale hand, he could no longer feel the heat radiating from the blonde on his skin. All eyes stared in shock at what they just witnessed. Sasuke quickly turning his back to them, his jaw clenched in silent frustration, not wanting to show the heat spreading across his cheeks to anyone.

"Baka," Sasuke finally spoke, in the stifling silence, smirking.

"I am not!" Ren and Naruto cried out, both voices shouting their denial. Eyes so similar only by the rough label blue, rapidly turned to look at each other, meeting. Ren growled, crossing her arms in frustration. She didn't like how Naruto had responded to Sasuke's word of endearment, how Naruto apparently seemed so close to Sasuke, how Sasuke actually acknowledged the blonde. To Ren, Sasuke's teasing words, that to any one else would seen as an insult, were in fact caring terms Sasuke used in his blind attempt to hide the adoration for others. But…for Naruto to respond so quickly, Sasuke must have insulted Naruto countless of times before Ren had ever met Sasuke. Before he had ever been her father. Before she valued his opinion of her.

A pain spread through her chest, feelings of losing Sasuke to the blonde, increasing. Sasuke was the only family Ren had left, if he left who could she depend on? Who would she train to impress? Who would holder her during the times of fear and pain?

'No…I don't want to lose Sasuke-tousan…not to him.'

'_I'll kill him…Let me out and I'll kill him. You'll have Sasuke all to your self…if you just let me __**OUT**__!'_

The last word a scream, resonating loudly in Ren's mind. Searing jolts of pain spread throughout her whole body, intensifying per second. Wrapping her arms around her waist, Ren's knees buckled unable to fold the body. Her chakra leaked from her body, rising in power, drawing all eyes to her crumpled form. Cries of pain ripped from the throat of the moon-haired girl. The chakra growing steadily, chocking the room with power.

"REN!"

At the sound of Sasuke's voice, the eyes lids Ren couldn't remember closing, snapped opened. The icebergs fighting to shine through the ebony veil over her eyes.

'NO!' Ren screamed in her mind, fighting against the voice. The howl of a wounded animal filled the small room. The chakra pushing to its limits, reached its peak with the scream. Closing her eye lids Ren fell into the calling darkness, cutting off the chakra.

Seeing the body crumple to the ground, feet dashed towards the unconscious girl. Sasuke was the first to reach his daughter, crouched down, and pulled Ren into her arms. Flipping her over comfortably, Sasuke lifted the hospital gown, the olive skin hot enough to burn his skin. Ignoring the feeling of danger, dark eyes skimmed the small back, coming across almost instantly a counter clockwise jagged spiral on the lower section of the girls back.

The seal burning red.

Frowning, Sasuke skimmed his fingers over the hostile looking pattern, feeling deep inside something was wrong. At the familiar pulse of power, dark eyes widened. The chakra was one he was use to, for the same power emitted from his own seal given to him by his sensei. Over the seal, another one lay, this one creating a havoc with the originals properties.

"Fuck!" At the sound of the word, all eyes turned away from the unconscious girl; to the dark-haired missing nin.

"Sasuke what's going on?" The words of his pink-haired ex-team mate held concern, and Sasuke knew he was in no position to be picky.

"Orochimaru somehow placed a seal on her body. The seal is clashing with her chakra and everything is going haywire and reacting to her emotions," Sasuke murmured to the medic nin, pulling down the gown. Sasuke gritted his teeth, knowing what he needed to do. He had to go back…had had to finish it.

"Kiba! Go find Jiraiya-sama. Tell him we need him in here now!" Sakura screamed, going from concerned teammate to doctor within seconds. Removing himself from the wall, clad in the traditional uniform of the ANBU, Kiba took a glance at the girl who seconds ago had been happily playing with Akamaru and nodded. Pulling down the white mask, resembling an inu, Kiba strolled across the tiny room, opening the window which had showered the room in sunlight and leapt through it.

The large muzzle belonging to Akamaru lifted to watch his master leave, before turning to the girl who had spoken with him. Whining softly, the large head lowered, watching carefully with his large eyes.

"Okay Sasuke we have to get her back in bed," Sakura told the Uchiha. Taking a deep breathe, the pink-haired kunoichi prepared herself in case Sasuke would act protective. Slowly Sakura wrapped her arms around the small frame belonging to the girl. Carefully she lifted the body away from Sasuke's arms. Placing her down on the bed, Ren had used to attack; Sakura quickly summoned healing chakra to her hand. The green glow passed over Ren's body, checking carefully to see how damaged the girl was. Seconds ticked by before Sakura pulled away, satisfied.

"The seal is the only thing causing her problems. It's messing with her chakra and some of her organs, but if Jiraiya comes soon, Ren should be okay."

Sasuke's eyes softened hearing the words come from the pink-haired doctor. Drawing his eyes away from the wooden floors, he got to his feet heading towards the door.

"Sasuke!" Naruto's voice cried out. Sasuke paused, not bothering to turn around to see the blonde. "Let me help you," Naruto spoke once more. Sasuke tried not to sigh, shaking his head instead. This fight was his. If he couldn't beat Orochimaru by himself, then it would be pointless to try and avenge his clan by killing Itachi.

"No. Watch Ren and if she asks…I'll be back soon." Sasuke calmly spoke, before walking through the door, closing it shut. Naruto growled in distress, his brows furrowing, all eyes watched the fuming blonde.

"Naruto…if Sasuke steps outside this hospital the ANBU will no longer consider him injured and will kill him." The cool tone from Neji's voice had Naruto curling his fist in anger, knowing full well the ANBU Captain was right.

After all there was no way in hell he was gonna let Sasuke walk off again!

Mind set, the blonde raced out of the room into the hallway. Sasuke was only a few steps ahead of him, walking at a purposeful pace. Snarling, Naruto rushed to the Uchiha, his once best friend.

Right hand reached out, grabbing Sasuke's dangling wrist. Pulling him to a stop, Sasuke gave out an annoyed sigh.

"I'm not going to let you do this by yourself! Stay here!" Naruto cried out fiercely.

"Naruto," Sasuke calmly spoke, "I have to do this alone. I need to finish off what I started."

"Shut up! Can't you realize that doing things on your own will never solve anything? Let me help you!" Seeing no change in the nins face, Naruto remembered the reaction Ren had over the Uchiha.

"Have you ever stopped to think about any one besides yourself? Think about Ren! You need to stay here for Ren's sake!" At the mention of his adopted daughters name, Sasuke tensed, he was thinking of Ren, if he killed Orochimaru Ren would be safe, she wouldn't be in agony. 'I said I would protect her…but if I go Ren…'

"_Wanna know something Sasuke-tousan?" Ren questioned, following the stoic Uchiha through the halls of Orochimaru's newest hideouts._

"_Hn." Pausing the girl blinked at his response, taking the reply as a yes, the six year old body rushed to keep up with Sasuke's fast pace._

"_I decided what I'm going to train for." The statement ha the last of the Uchiha's raising an eyebrow, looking forward Ren continued. "I'm going to train so I can help Sasuke-tousan. So that he can one day smile and be happy." Sasuke stopped walking at her words, his mouth hanging slightly open. _

_Noticing his sudden stop Ren turned, giving him the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face, the truth of her words in the smile_

"AHHHHH!" AT the scream of pain, that Sasuke realized was Ren's voice he was taken away from his memories. Ren trained to protect his smile, if he left now the smile that Sasuke protected would break.

"I…"

"Stay here for Ren…and me…" The last two words a whisper Naruto prayed the Uchiha had heard.

The blond watched Sasuke's back muscles tensed slightly before relaxing in defeat. Releasing the dark-haired teen's wrist, he took a step back, giving room for Sasuke to turn around, not wanting a repeat of the kiss they had shared. Ignoring the warmth that spread remembering the brush of lips, Naruto focused on the man in front of him.

Dark eyes brooding on what Naruto said and the whisper.

"I'm not going to let you go again," Naruto added in a soft but determined voice. Sasuke tilted his head to the ceiling, eyelids closed in thought. With out noticing Naruto found himself staring at the exposed neck, taunting the blonde, making him move a step closer.

Naruto made a low whine in distress when Sasuke looked back at Naruto and the neck was no longer fully exposed. "Fine. I'll stay for Ren's sake…" Sasuke decided, Naruto sighed in relief at the proclamation.

"Good, cuase I would have had to beat you up if you had said no." Naruto proclaimed arrogantly.

"Hn. Like you could, but I'll only stay for a while, till I'm fully healed or after I wipe the arrogant smirk of your face usatonkachi by beating you again." With that reply Sasuke moved past Naruto heading back towards his room. Sasuke words slowly beginning to sink into the blondes head.

"TEME!" Naruto shouted, turning at the perfect moment to see the dark-haired nin send him a smirk before closing the hospital room door.

Naruto grinned, rubbing his nose with his finger. Maybe things were getting better. Just maybe…

♪Sairen♪

Crimson eyes stared silently in the distance as rain gently fell from the heaven. Fingers lightly touched the moist floor, dirt clinging onto the cream-colored fingers. "The Five-Tails was here…" the dark-haired male murmured before standing up. Turning to his partner, crimson eyes met with beady black ones.

"It's seems Zetsu was a bit off…this is more west than north," Kisame noted, leaning against one tree of the few trees still left standing. The trees surrounding the clearing scarred with marks from kunais and jutsus. Itachi turned his gaze to the ceiling of leaves and stretching branches above him. The image blurred for a moment before returning back to normal. Kisame's eyes scrutinized Itachi, noticing a muscle in Itachi's cheek twitch.

Something was wrong. Kisame had been partnered with Itachi long enough to pick up on small details that gave off what the younger male was truly feeling. Something was bothering Itachi. Giving off a soft growl, Kisame broke the silence, "Give it a rest, Itachi." The younger nin's brows furrowed, turning his head back toward Kisame.

"The Akatsuki has no room for members who become useless. Just give your eyes a rest," Kisame went on, his crisp voice making the words burn on Itachi's pride. Kisame watched nostrils flare slightly despite the fact that Itachi's voice was a blank mask.

"You always have a way with words, Kisame," Itachi finally replied in his passionless voice, his eyelids slowly opening to reveal onyx eyes. Kisame sighed in relief as the muscles in his shoulders relaxed. Kisame could swear Itachi was going to strangle the life out of him. "However," the younger nin drawled, "When Zetsu comes to us…" Kisame sighed and gave a nod.

"We should probably find some shelter before the storm gets worse," Kisame murmured, Itachi giving a slow nod of acknowledgment. The two nins were soon off, their bodies jumping toward the branches and landing on them with ease. The pattern went on: jump, land, jump, land, jump, land, jump, land. The quest to find shelter becoming a bleak one. Minuets seemed to quickly tick by and already the two nins found themselves soaked by the rain's water.

The sudden sight of the cave had the two nins making a mad dash. At the cave front, the two nins landed gently on the ground. Hair clinging to their heads possessively as water continued to fall on them. "Home sweet home," Kisame mused dryly as Itachi stepped inside and sighed softly in reply. "I'll try to find something we can burn to make a fire," Kisame stated after a moment of silence, walking deeper into the cave, leaving Itachi where he stood. Allowing a shiver to run through his body, his cream-colored hands began to pull his cloak off of him. It held on to his body, proving to be difficult to the Uchiha. Finally, after some struggle, the cloak came off and the water was soon squeezed out from material.

Feeling Kisame's chakra signature grow near, Itachi moved a bit back, his bare back touching the cool walls of the cave. The sound of sticks and twigs clacking on the ground echoed through out the cave, before light soon filled the cave as the sticks were lit. Dark beady eyes watched the light playing against Itachi's body as the younger nin gently placed his cloak near the fire. Kisame followed suit, beginning to take off his cloak after placing his sword down carefully.

The sound of a sucking noise was heard and Kisame raised his head to look at the exposed nin who only wore his ebony undergarment that clung deliciously to Itachi's body. Beads of water ran down the sculpted abdomen and disappearing when they reached the Uchiha's boxers. The light from the fire illuminating the nin's body as he stood there trying to warm up his body.

"See something you like?" Itachi asked in that passionless voice of his but on those salmon-colored lips was the faint hint of a knowing smirk. Kisame snorted, placing his pants next to his coat by the fire. Sitting down, he leaned his muscular back against the wall. Ruffling his own dark blue hair, his eyes closed and a small smile graced his lips.

"And what if I did?" Kisame replied in an amused tone. Itachi blinked in confusion, not at all expecting for the shark nin to make a reply at all, let alone that one. Itachi frowned and took the hair tie out, allowing his ebony curtain of hair cascade down on his shoulders. Kisame opened his eyes blinked in shock to see a creamy hued thigh right before him. Leave it to Itachi to move quicker than a heartbeat. "Eh? What a nice sight," Kisame sniggered, watching the muscles tighten in reply.

"For such a polite being…you tend to stick your head in dirty gutters here and there," Itachi replied in a soft growl giving a warning to the shark. Kisame shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the towering Uchiha who had his arms crossed before him.

"For being such a reserved nin, you tend to stick certain body parts in other people's faces here and there," Kisame shot back in a laughing voice, causing the Uchiha to narrow his eyes.

"Oh shush, you should be glad that I convinced you to keep the Sharig – Zetsu?" Kisame began but cut himself off as he finally noticed a certain member of the Akatuki. Itachi's head jerked toward the other male, hastily taking a step back.

Zetsu tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy, happening to come in to see Itachi and Kisame in a…strange position. Itachi grumbled a curse and Kisame gave toothy grin.

"Zetsu? News?" Kisame inquired, Itachi retreating to his side of the cave, taking a seat. 'Zetsu better keep his mouth shut about this or I'll carve him like a pig,' Itachi thought silently, activating the Sharingan once more.

"I apologize for stumbling in…I should have known," Zetsu began in that robotic voice of his while Kisame narrowed his eyes in question; "I know the exact location of the Five Tails. The Five Tails is in Konoha. My sources are never wrong and I have felt its energy. Boss-sama says to hurry." Kisame gave a nod and watched the Venus Flytrap disappear into the ground.

"Take it off," Kisame grumbled, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Hmm?" Itachi replied, his eyes closed as he leaned against the back of the wall.

"The Sharingan. I saw what you did. Now change it back, I don't want a blind partner."

"Kisame…if you keep this up, I might get the faint impression that you are caring for me."

Kisame snorted and shook his head gently, "Now why would I be fond of you?"

"You seemed quite friendly with my thigh just a few minuets ago," Itachi replied, feeling himself slowly drifting into sleep. Kisame gave a nonchalant shrug, staring at the fire's flickering flames.

"You should be worrying about Zetsu. If he tells Boss-sama, who knows how he'll react," Kisame replied but his worry falling on deaf ears, for the younger nin was already fast asleep. Kisame stared at Itachi, brows furrowing in a silent question before relaxing. Turning his gaze to the cave's ceiling, he stared at the dancing shadows before they soothed him into a sleep with dreams of the moon and tuna.

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Pheme: Don't forget to review because I love them. Enjoy the next chapter.


	5. The Road to Happiness Is Paved With

Pheme: Hey guys sorry it took forever to update, all explanations will be made below. Enjoy the chapter!

"Blah" – Talking

'Blah'- Thinking

'_Blah'_- Kyuubi or Houkou talking

♪Sairen♪- scene change

♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter V: The Road to Happiness Is Paved With Thorns

Screams laced with pure agony echoed off the thick walls. Each cry causing all the shinobi stationed within the halls of the lair to involuntarily let shivers run down their spines. Even though screams were common inside the base…the origin of them didn't come from the experiments corner, but instead the section of the base controlled by the sounds shinobi's only leader…Orochimaru.

Kabuto ran down the corridors shaped from the earth, shooting glares to any nin who dared to open his mouth to question the reason behind the screams. This was one of the moment the silver-haired medic nin wished his room was located closer to the Sannin's, instead of the lab. Not even Sasuke, the chosen vessel to be, was granted the honor of sleeping close to the Sannin's room. Orochimaru trusted no one to stay close to his dormitory, especially after all those he had betrayed could easily pay off any one of his shinobi's. Trust was an uncommon word inside the base, and the actual usage of it could even be considered forbidden.

Orochimaru was not one who gambled his life on chances; he would teak and change any problem so that in the end things would turn out in his favor. For Orochimaru to trust someone was impossible, he was paranoid, unsure who was plotting what. And after Ren's little joke with the laxatives in his food, Orochimaru had forced other to taste his food ahead of time. He wasn't the type of person who would repeat the same mistake twice. But it would seem he had never expected for his expectations to delude him.

Pushing open the snake carved wooden door, the medic nin quickly shut them so no to reveal the state the Sannin was in. Surrounded by once white pristine sheets now colored red, the Snake Sannin was paler than usual, his purple markings glowing harshly against the face. Pulling back on of the sheets, Kabuto took another look at the wound caused be the Uchiha. After the clean up, the wound was actually not has bad as it had once appeared to be. A vital artery had been hit, explaining the amount of blood being lost, but the damage was minimal compared to what it should have been if Sasuke had been at his full power.

Moving his equipment to his side, the medic nin began to heal his leader. First reattaching the artery, before slowly pushing the healing chakra into the older mans body, trying to heal as much as possible. The minutes passed silently, and before Kabuto realized an hour had passed since beginning of the procedure. Wiping away the sweat drops that had made it past his head band, Kabuto sighed in relief, pleased he had at least been able to stop the bleeding.

Pushing his knees away from the ground, the silver-haired medic nin stood back on his feet stretching his sore muscles. Glancing at the Sannin, Kabuto couldn't help but release an annoyed sigh. Bending his knees he picked up Orochimaru's body, who had become unconscious sometime during the surgery. Carrying him to the large bed that took up most of the small room, Kabuto propped the Sannin to a sitting position, cleaning the back and the front of the body to not get blood on Sannin's silky sheets.

Laying the paler than usual body unto the dark violet colored sheets, Kabuto began to cover the body with a blanket when a pale hand snatched his wrist. The vice grip shocking Kabuto seeing as Orochimaru shouldn't have had any strength left to be awake and even less to actually catch the medic nin's wrist.

"Ah…Orochimaru-sama how good that your up. The damage to your current vessel is low but the chance it will survive any other fights after this will be difficult." Kabuto explained quickly, wanting to be released by the Snake Sannin, but knowing the idea was as impossible as the action.

"The…only vessel I want…is Sasuke."

"But Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke is back in Konoha with Ren." At the sound of the moon-colored haired girl's name, the snake eyes narrowed.

"That bitch stole Sasuke…I want him back…in less than three months…I want him here…ready to take my soul…and that bitch…I want her dead…I no longer…want to use her…she has become useless…and I want her DEAD!" With the last word scream, coughs racked the Snake Sannin's body, finally releasing his hold on Kabuto's wrist. Ignoring all warning calls in the medic nin's head to ignore the Sannin's cough fit, the silver haired nin refused to listen, rushing to the Sannin's side checking over his lungs.

Slapping away the helping hands, Orochimaru tried to send and even deadlier glare. "I…WANT…SASUKE! Send whoever…..you want….but I demand……to see Sasuke….. here in three months……. as well as Ren's bloody head." Stepping back Kabuto nodded to Orochimaru. Planning already who to send to bring the Uchiha and the experiment. Hearing the soft sounds of snores from the prone body of the Sannin, Kabuto at last excused himself.

'Oh how I'm going to get both of you back? I'm going to make you wish you had treated me better.' Grinning from ear to ear, Kabuto leisurely returned to his room and lab, not noticing the weird looks sent his way from the other shinobi's.

♪Sairen♪

Sasuke stayed at Ren's side, her tiny hand wrapped in his, his thumb running over her hand. Naruto stood at the opposite side of the bed, eyeing the girl in the same way he would any future enemy. Taking in her strengths, her weaknesses and most importantly how powerful she actually was.

'_In power if I remember correctly he was fifth or so…but when it came down to fighting the only one he never beat was myself and the eight tails. Houkou is as cunning as any other mutt…and with his power over illusion it just makes him more dangerous than most mutts.'_

Naruto could only snicker at the sound of distaste for dogs coming from Kyubbi. 'You're family. I can see the resemblance. ' A snort from the fox was the only reply to the teasing, causing a smirk to grace his lips.

"Talking to yourself again Dobe?" At the sound of the old teasing word, Naruto lifted his head. Blue eyes clashed with dark ones, a similar smirk gracing the pale boy's lips. No…Sasuke was no longer a boy…he no longer looked like the revenge crazed boy he had three years ago. Sasuke had grown taller, only slightly buffer than before, but not enough to destroy the perfect harmony of less than bulky muscles and graceful body. The ebony colored hair the same length as before, but giving the owner a strangely older look. Sasuke had turned into a man in the last three years…and Naruto could only feel envious of the changes. Not noticing he had too changed.

"I wouldn't make fun of it teme…seems like that girl will also soon be hearing voices." The playful streak in Sasuke's eyes disappeared, hardening quickly.

"Her name is Ren. And you have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto's eyes widened at the malice filling the last few words. Somehow in the last few moments the blonde had been able to completely screw up the fragile friendship.

Opening his mouth, his words were replaced by a loud bark, reminding the two shinobi's that the large creamy colored dog was still in the room. Not also realizing the bark was a warning for seconds later Kiba appeared at the door, the large form of Jiraiya behind him, filling out the door. Kiba made his way to the corner were Akamaru laid, Jiraiya entering right after going to the small girl laying peacefully on the hospital bed, all accept for the large amounts of chakra rolling from her body.

"So is there any reason why I was woken up at 7 A.M., and rushed to the hospital? I was having such a lovely dream about these twelve deliciously curved women and they were jumping all over the places with only veils on and…"

"AH! Ero-sennin this is a hospital have some respect." Jiraiya smirked at his student, glancing at the Uchiha who had donned a calm demeanor. Any properly trained shinobi, the moment they walked in, would be able to tell the affect the seals were having on the small girl. One seal releasing normal chakra, the other releasing a harsher form of chakra, both types clashing in the surrounding air. And while Jiraiya knew what was happening to the poor girl, he always did like the sounds of pleas…even if sometime they weren't for joining his bed.

"Look Ren-chan…well she having a problem like the one that I had…" Mumbling the last words, hoping his sensei would remember what he was talking about. While he trusted Sasuke, Naruto had no idea how the Uchiha would fully react to knowing that the Kyuubi lay dormant in his body…even if it did seem like Sasuke already knew.

"Well I don't know…"

"Come on Ero-sennin! You know you're the best do I have to stroke your ego every signal time I ask a favor?" Naruto hmped, wanting to get back to the trying to fix his cracking friendship with the Uchiha instead of helping the Sannin's ego grow.

"Cut them some slack, apparently the husband and the wife have already had there first lovers spat." The joking voice belonging to Kiba had every one in the room turn to look at the dog shinobi, standing securely at the door. A large grin was spread on his lips, taunting not only the blonde but the Uchiha as well, and with a wink Kiba left the room with twin sets of glares following the raggedy haired nin.

"I'm going to find Sakura and then check in ANBU Headquarters…guards will be posted on the out side of this room sometime in the next two hours." Finishing telling the trio the plan from the other side of the door, Naruto sprang to the hospital door sliding it open the exact moment Kiba puffed away in a cloud of smoke.

'Damn that mutt! He is _**so**_ going to pay.'

"Tsunade will be here soon to gaki." Turning away from the door, Naruto faced his teacher, eyes wide at the statement.

"Why is Tsunade-baachan coming?"

"Because I'm the best doctor here gaki!" The voice snarling from behind had the blonde tensing. Plastering a forced grin, Naruto turned to face the Godaime, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hehe…" Brown eyes narrowed at the smiling blonde, brushing past him a sigh of relief could be heard as it slipped past the pink lips. The sigh quickly replaced by yowls of pain when a fist connected to his head.

"Now tell me what happened. Sakura informed me but not enough it seems." Tsunade told the room while taking Ren's wrist and checking her pulse with her fore and middle finger.

'At least her heartbeat is strong, the seal hasn't traveled for enough to affect that just yet. But if I'm right the seal needs to be removed sooner rather than later, who knows the havoc it could cause.' Looking up, brown eyes meet with dark ones framed by white hair. Receiving a nod from her old team mate, she gave a mental sigh. 'Today is going to be a long day.'

"She lied about there not being a vessel in Sound." Naruto started, slipping from his usual airy self to his jounin side. Cheery blue eyes hardening, his smile vanishing only to be replaced by stern lips.

"In fact the vessel is the girl on front of you. Houkou is the demons name; he is an inu demon, the fifth most powerful out of the nine." The voice coming from Naruto's mouth was cold…almost robotic. Sasuke's face fought to stay stoic, but the sudden change that over took the blonde was shocking.

Tsunade frowned at hearing her protégées voice fade into the usual monotone voice. It didn't matter that she had heard it on several occasions; Naruto's abnormal voice always broke her heart. But she knew as a jounin and even as an ANBU member he needed to be frigid, heartless and never allowed to reveal emotions. The perfect weapon for a shinobi was a tool before human.

No matter how many times Naruto would protest about killing, in the life style he had chosen, he had no other choice. The best way not to get caught up with the baggage that came with each and every mission was simply to become detached, become someone else. If not, the anguish, the guilt, the disgust…everything would build up before exploding. And with the eruption people died.

Slipping his hand away from Ren's, Sasuke stormed over the robotic Naruto. Grabbing the front of his collar he pulled his ex-team mate closer to him, blinking onyx eyes fading to a deep crimson, the two tomeo's spinning dangerously

"You. Shut. UP! You know nothing about Ren. What makes you think you know anything at all?" Naruto turned his eyes to meet the Uchiha's, his blue eyes slowly losing their roughness.

"Sasuke…" Naruto paused unsure of how to continue. How to explain to his ex-best friend he understood perfectly what Ren would face and probably had faced.

'_Kit'_

The kitsune's voice broke though Naruto muddy thoughts. To Naruto it was still odd to hear the kitsune's voice inside his head. For fourteen years not even a peep had been heard from the kitsune, but that night when his body and the kitsune's merged, something had been broken. Even if the merge had only been for a minute and had almost killed his body, it was enough to break parts of the seal. Parts that Naruto didn't realize, till the next day when he was awoken to find the kitsune yelling at him in his mind, had blocked the kitsune from conversing with its host. Only a few people knew about his ability to talk to his demon, and even though Tsunade had worried that something had gone wrong with the seal, Naruto had been glad to have a connection to the demon, if only to talk to it.

'_The Uchiha is worried about its pup nothing more…bitches are usually protective about their pups'_

Naruto chocked on the laughter that he knew would erupt, comparing Sasuke to an over protective mother…yeah he could see the resemblance.

"Uchiha release Naruto right now. I will not have you fighting when we have this girl to worry about. Now unless you want me to toss your asses out of this room, get out!" Tsunade yelled at the pair, finding them incapable of giving her information at this time…even if neither knew it, they had become attached to the girl, by more ways than one.

Not wanting to let go, Sasuke tightened his grip on Naruto's shirt glaring at the boy in front of him, unsure of what he wanted to do. Giving up on Naruto, Sasuke focused his glare on the busty blonde, which Tsunade was more than willing to return. A smirk followed the returned glare, as if he had dared to question her abilities. Allowing his Sharigan to be replaced by his original eyes color, he gave one more look to Ren before once more walking out of the room.

Swinging his head from his ex-teammate to the Godaime, Naruto cursed his luck. He would rather be a punching bag for Tsunade then ever have to put up with Sasuke's moods. Grumbling about unfairness, Naruto followed the last Uchiha out the door.

"So…shall we start?" Jiraiya asked his first time speaking in quite a while. 'At least Naruto and the Uchiha had been some entertainment…they really did act like a married couple.' Chuckling at the reminder of what the ANBU dog user had earlier said.

Catching the angry spark in Tsunade's eyes the Sannin stopped his chuckling, going completely serious.

"Lets, I rather not have an angry Uchiha on my hands. The gaki is enough trouble." Pulling back the sheet, Tsunade took a look at the moon-colored hair girl. What fortune had the child cast to have such bad luck in her life? Keeping in the sigh she would have released, the busty blonde went into the process of turning the small girl over and lifting the gown provided by the hospital.

"Sakura said the seal was on her lower back." And with those words the two old teammates proceeded in undoing whatever disaster their third teammate had done.

♪Sairen♪

Shutting the door behind him, Naruto looked around in his attempt to find Sasuke.

"Tch. Dobe." Looking to his left, the last of the Uchiha's was leaning on the wall, as if no forces in the world could remove him.

"Come on teme." The simple suggestion, sounded like a mix of a command and plea. Lifting a dark eyebrow towards the squirming blonde, Sasuke couldn't tell if Naruto needed to use the bathroom or if he was nervous. Pushing himself off the wall, the dark haired nin stood next to the blonde, waiting. Taking the movement for a 'yes', Naruto rapidly attached his palm and fingers around the pale wrist, unaware of how to everyone it would have looked as if they had been holding hands.

With more energy than he should have after staying up for the last 56 hours, Naruto vaulted for the stairs, dragging a scowling Uchiha after him. Naruto's pace didn't slow down until the distance from Ren's room and his place met his approval. Yet the silence that had made its appearance in front of the room still had not disappeared.

For Sasuke the silence was normal, for the past eighteen years of his life his life had been filled with silence. The only exceptions being: his childhood, the last few years with Ren and…the years with obnoxious blonde beside him. Silence was the protection Sasuke never had to work for, never ask for, and yet had appeared. Silence was haven.

For Naruto the silence was slowly killing him. His mouth kept opening and closing, like a fish trying to get the air to enter his mouth instead of his gills. The silence was awkward, he felt the need to interrupt it but nothing could come to the blondes mind. It wasn't like the silence he was used to back in his apartment, there was a need for something to be said…anything to break the tense atmosphere that shadowed Naruto.

'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.'

'_You could ask to screw him senseless.'_ The sudden interruption in Naruto's petite and nonexistent rant had the blonde's whiskered cheeks burning a pale pink.

'Kyuubi!'

'_What?! You haven't had a good lay for a while; I bet you're just sexually frustrated. Hell I'm sexually frustrated, and I don't complain. But the least you could do to be a good host is get some action.'_ For once Naruto was glad he was a few steps ahead of Sasuke. If not the man would have seen the slight blush that had appeared a few seconds before turn a deeper shade, similar to the one Hinata appeared to have whenever Naruto would talk to her.

'Kyuubi! I'm warning you…' Naruto started, coming off his shock from being told to screw his friend by his parasite demon.

'I'm betting Shukaku got more action then me. His host can't even sleep; I bet it lasted all night long. And here all I'm asking is you to ask the Uchiha brat to bend over.' The kitsune pouting, upset with the fact his sibling probably had gotten more action than himself and that Naruto hadn't even asked the man to bend over, or even move in front of the blonde to at least get some good glances at the ass covered by thin light green hospital pants.

'Kyuubi I swear I'm going to kick…'

"Dobe the…" Looking up, Naruto forced his mind to pay attention to the man beside him. However, Naruto never let Sasuke finish his sentence as skin met metal. "…door."

Howling in pain, Naruto dropped the hand that had been holding the last Uchiha's wrist, uncertain to why he hadn't dropped it sooner. Rubbing his forehead, the blonde noticed his usual hi-tai, was no longer tied around his forehead. With a mumble of nosy pink-haired doctors who demand to treat even patients who aren't injured and mess with their stuff, Naruto shoved the door open with more force that would have been necessary. A large smirk appearing as the metal door handle banged loudly against the outside wall.

"Serves ya right, stupid door." Giving a look that told the blonde, the Uchiha saw him as insane, Sasuke moved past the blonde, who was too busy giving random kicks to the door, as if no one could see it.

The rooftop of the hospital was flat. Being as the hospital was in one of the corners of the village the view faced the west; all stores, houses and apartments in view from any spot. But the view of Konoha shot an ache through Sasuke's heart. Deep down Sasuke wanted to run away again. Deep down he knew he didn't belong here. He was an Avenger, there was nothing in this village but memories of what he had been forced to accept at such an early age. What had been drilled into him since the moment Itachi's blade swung down tainting it with Uchiha blood.

Revenge.

Hate.

Be emotionless.

Show no loyalty.

Become strong.

Find the murder of the Uchiha Clan.

Be the Avenger for the Clan.

Kill to avenge the Clan.

Kill your brother.

The brother he had spent seven years of his life idolizing, wishing to be even a little bit like him. The genius…Itachi Uchiha.

Facing forward, his elbows bracing the rest of his lean body of the metal bars, the clear blue sky seemed to last forever, promising safety and acceptance, something the village underneath did not.

Finished with his revenge on the door, Naruto turned to find the Uchiha. At the corner were the view had a less populated area of Konoha, stood the Uchiha. Compared to the stature the genin Uchiha had, the Uchiha before him was different. The tension that had been on his face all those years ago had lessened, and if Naruto hadn't known the boy since they were in the academy, the blonde would have bet millions that this Uchiha could actually smile without making small babies cry.

The touch of the metal door on his arm had Naruto turn to his latest enemy, who was currently trying to push the blonde away so it could shut.

"I swear that door is out to get me." With that mumbled, Naruto moved out of the door's way, which closed with a click. But from the few inches he moved, the blonde couldn't move anymore. As if the gods were against him a wind appeared, slowly wrapping around the pale form of the Uchiha. It teasing the blonde by playing with the dark locks, pressing the hospital pants and loose shirt against the frame showing off small bits of the flesh underneath. And the fact the material was almost transparent from the way the sunlight was hitting it, was just as irritating as the wind.

'_Defiantly something I would like to eat.' _

'Yeah.' Hardly noticing what the Kyuubi had said, cerulean eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the back of the Uchiha. The enticing back covered in close to transparent clothes, standing out with the dark hair and pale skin in the sunlight.

'_Glad you agree, now __**move**__!'_

'Wait…what?' Snapping back to his usual self, the blonde noted that at the moment he had little control of his body, his feet shuffling oddly towards the Uchiha, his broad tan build stiff. Within seconds Naruto felt his body return to his command, bringing the blonde close enough to Sasuke that he could see the fine lines of muscles under the pale green shirt, but far away enough that he didn't have to fight the urge to jump his best friend.

"What do you think will happen to Ren?" The question was a whisper, but Naruto's ears still caught it, and all crude thoughts left his mind. The words had concern subtly laced within.

The broken silence, that moments before he had been craving, sent shivers down his spine. Mixed emotions of happiness...of fear. For once Naruto wished he didn't have to reply, that he had no answer. That the famous dead last could live up to the name and not answer the question.

But…he knew too well.

Naruto knew the burdens that a jinchuuriki carried, the hopes that were fought for, the dreams that had little chance of happening, the love difficult to obtain, and the hatred that silently choked you. He had eighteen years of hatred under him, and while he was accepted by the village and his fellow shinobi…he knew. He knew that there were still some people who watched his actions from the corner of their eyes, ready at anytime to strike if he got out of control. To find his one weakness that could lead to his downfall.

They wanted their weapon controlled, even if they thought the blonde didn't know. The villagers in Konoha were the same as in Suna, even with all the respect, each village made sure they kept their weapon under lock and key, under untrusting eyes. The answer Sasuke wanted to hear was something Naruto could not bring himself to spill.

The silence returned with a vengeance, the pressure for an answer had the blonde jinchuuriki squirming.

'Just tell him the truth kit…like any father he is worried.' Nodding with Kyubbi's words, the scuffling sound of shoes on pavement broke the silence once more. Naruto rested his back on the bars, his arms crossed across his broad chest; his head craned back allowing blue eyes to meet blue skies.

"It's not so simple Sasuke." There he had said it, but silence once more invaded the would-be conversation. In irritation, Naruto asked the first thing that came to his mind.

"Who told you about Kyuubi?" If Naruto had looked when he had asked the question he would have noticed the way Sasuke's muscles had tensed.

"Orochimaru. He based his experiment on you and Gaara." Only a few seconds had passed since Naruto had last spoke, but with Sasuke's words, he wanted to go back in time and never ask the question. But now he couldn't stop, he wanted to knew, he needed to know why such a girl had been placed into the position he had never wanted others to experience.

"How?"

"The myth was the demon bond itself to a tree, somehow Orochimaru found the tree. Kabuto told me that in the beginning there had been at least forty newborns, all from different areas. They were placed under the tree which the demon inhabited and then the tree was lit on fire. Orochimaru suspected that the demon which had sealed itself into the tree would also be able to self seal itself into a body. By the time the tree had finished burning the numbers had been cut in half.

"When I first met Ren…she was one out of the three left. Through the years the children had been driven crazy, some killed themselves, and others killed the people in their cells. Ren's mother, Uta, placed a jutsu on Ren that almost caused Orochimaru to kill Ren, but instead Uta died." Pausing, Sasuke turned his head to look at the blonde, finally having time to take in the changes that had taken place in the last three years.

Sun kissed hair had grown out of the once defying gravity spikes into slightly tamed spikes,the longest part caressing the whiskered cheeks. No longer was he short, sometime during the years he had reached a growth spurt, yet Sasuke would bet that he was still taller, something he wanted to hold over the blonde forever. The taller build held more muscles, easily seen by the black muscle tee, the black and orange jacket forgotten during the last few days. The only things that had not changed about the blonde, was his natural tan, the wide smile and the dazzling blue eyes. Even if the smile was strained and the eyes held painful memories, Sasuke couldn't expect him to still be the same dobe he had left…even if deep down that's what he wanted.

Turning away from the blonde, already having been distracted by his change, Sasuke reminded himself why he was asking Naruto such questions, that before he would never have cared for

"When did you…" Sasuke didn't even have to finish his sentence for Naruto to know what he was referring too.

"I learned about Kyuubi the night that we graduated from the Academy. Mizuki told me in attempt to get me off guard and piss me off. I first used his power during the mission were we fought Haku and I met him when Jiraiya threw me off a cliff before the final part of the Chuunin Exams.

"A few months before y-you left, I was training to control his power better and I pushed too far. When I woke up the damn kitsune was talking in my head. But Gaara was never able to talk to his demon, even after all the times he transformed. So it might be different for Ren, the only thing that we jinchuuriki share similar is the hatred towards us by others." Anger laced Naruto's last words, as if the jinchuuriki's were to blame for contain the demons. Sasuke didn't even have to look to know that Naruto's fists were clenching white.

Sasuke remembered the whispers behind Ren's back by the rest of the sound nin's, the fear that entered their eyes when the girl got angry. The few times she had hurt Kabuto and once Orochimaru during the times when she had no control of her body, was prove enough for Orochimaru's nin to think she was unstable. Even Orochimaru had doubted if he could control Ren. 'But taking in the way he attacked her in the last battle, I'm supposing Orochimaru has made up his mind. He wants Ren out of the way.'

'_You should tell the Uchiha that unlike Shukaku, Houkou won't do damage to the girl, maybe to you but no the girl or him.'_ Kyuubi informed his host, after being silent for too long. Opening his mouth to reiterate the information given to him by the kitsune, Naruto stopped long enough to think the words over.

'Wait…WHY ME!?' Kyuubi sighed, wishing that the blonde could be at least quite in his mind, seeing as he yelled enough outside.

'_Houkou wants revenge against me so simply put you're going to have a hard time gaining favor for the girl if you want to court the Uchiha.'_

'What to you mean court him!?'

"What did you say dobe?" Naruto turned to look a Sasuke, who was raising a dark eyebrow with his question. Seconds passed as it slowly sunk in that Naruto not only had scream those words in his mind, but they had had also slipped his lips. Spreading a large grin across his face, he rubbed the back of his head, his whiskers marks curving slightly with his closed eyes, all combining to give the blonde more of a fox like appearance.

"Ha-ha, nothing teme." Naruto rapidly spewed out, trying to think of a way to change the subject.

'Just smile and rube, smile and rub.'

Not accepting Naruto's answer, Sasuke pushed himself off the metal bars that encircled the hospital roof. Moving closer to the blonde, Sasuke caught the slight smell of ramen, almost as if the scent belonged with the body.

"Dobe." The word was barley a whisper, but the proximity between the blonde and ebony haired shinobi was so close that even a whisper could be seen as a yell.

'Just smile and rube, smile and rub, don't open your eyes…' Jinxing himself with the order, his lashes slowly parted, revealing the blue gems underneath.

Black met blue, and as cliché as it sounded Naruto could have sworn time stood still, waiting for the next action. Bodies moved closer, foreheads millimeters apart from touching, the pairs of lips just a breath away. This time it would be for real, no one would push Naruto or Sasuke unto echo her. This time they had a choice, to touch lips or to pull away before the action had even been committed. This time they would finally….

"Sa-Su-Ke!" The name was sung loudly, making the two men scramble away from each other as fast as possible before the metal door was swung open, once more being abused by a blonde.

"I was hoping you be here Sasuke-kun. Tsunade finished with the girl and she wanted to talk to you before she woke up…" Ino trailed off; glancing from the blonde to the ebony haired man she had once crushed on when she was a teen. A ten foot pole could be placed between the two nin's, both panting and red in the face.

"Was I interrupting something?" Ino asked, smirking, enjoying seeing both of the strongest shinobi's in such a panic state. But her entertainment was cut short as Sasuke's retained his stoic façade.

With a "hn" Sasuke moved away from the metal bars he had been holding as a life line and walked to the door Ino was standing in front off. Looking back at the blonde, whose face was still flushed, Naruto choose that moment to raise his head from his staring contest with the ground.

"Ah…go ahead Sasuke. I'll catch up." Without a response Sasuke turned back to the stairway, leaving the same way he had come up.

Making sure that Sasuke was far from earshot, Ino pounced on Naruto, a lewd grin on her face.

"So…what _was_ happening between you two?"

"Nothing Ino." Naruto told her, pushing down the blush that dared to form at the thought of what would have happened if Ino hadn't come in at that moment, what Ino would have seen if she had come any later. "We were just fighting."

"So that's what you call it now, cause I would have sworn fighting doesn't leave you blushing, panting and looking like you've been caught red handed doing something naughty." To emphasize her point, she wiggled her eyebrows; the lewd smile if possible growing larger. More to convince himself rather then her, his laughter came out loudly.

"Ino you've been reading way too many romance novels." Shaking his head at the girl he moved away from her and to the door.

"We were just arguing nothing else." With that said, Naruto stepped into the stairwell, climbing down each step rapidly. Running away from anymore questions Ino would come up with.

Pouting from the blonde's denial, Ino left a sigh escape her lips, before the pout reversed into a smile. The kind of smile that would make anyone in the vicinity run away from the fear it would bring.

"Just wait and see Naruto, you weren't fighting I know that for sure."

♪Sairen♪

Sasuke paused outside his and Ren's hospital room. The door was shut, and he could hear no commotion on the other side. No nurses were running in and out, screaming for help. No ANBU were sneaking in, ready to kill if needed. The area surrounding the door was silent, peaceful. To anyone that would be a relief, but Sasuke knew better. Sometimes silence was your worst enemy.

Grabbing the door knob, the metal felt cool on his skin. It felt different from the metal he had been touching before on the roof…talking to Naruto. The blonde had looked different under the noon sun. Rosy lips, whiskered cheeks, and the face that looked grown up…while still having the maturity of a twelve-year old. And then we they had come closer, only a mere breathe away from obtaining a chaste kiss…

Sasuke eyes widened, his grip on the knob becoming tighter. 'I almost kissed Naruto…' The realization hit him hard, worse than any physical attack, because if they had kissed, no one could be blamed for it. Not the boy in their Academy class, nor Ren. The kiss would rest solely on the shoulders of Sasuke and Naruto. '…Shit!'

Before Sasuke could run, claiming falsehood to everything, the door knob he had been holding turned and swung open, pulling a stunned Sasuke with it. Stumbling into the room with none of the grace the Uchiha's were famous for, Sasuke attempted to rectify his mistake. Straightening himself, he plastered a scowl on his face, and glared at the offender who had dared to open the door on him.

But the damage had been done.

Tsunade smirked watching Sasuke tried to recover. It wasn't everyday the Uchiha was caught off guard. His face had been priceless when he had stumbled in; making the Godaime wish she had been carrying a camera. The blackmail potential of that shot would have been amazing...the amount of gambling that could be done. 'At least I can still make fun of him.'

"Ah, Sasuke, I was just about to send someone else to look for you." Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the busty blonde, his composure finally gathered. 'Oh it looks like he thought I was going to tease him…what a horrible thing to think…yet who am I to let him down.' Giving him another smirk, she could tell today was going to be a good day.

"Though, it was nice of you to stumble in." The glare seemed to be sending invisible knifes, trying to impale the women as many times as it would take to satisfy Sasuke.

"Now before you stumble over and check on the girl…Ren right? She's fine. Jiraiya removed Orochimaru's seal, and everything is returning to normal. I ran a few tests on her body just to make she is okay, and everything checks out okay. Though I do have a question, when we were working on the seals, we noticed something…her seal it was self made correct?"

Sasuke didn't let his glare reside the whole time Tsunade had been talking. Though he felt the stress in his shoulders that had appeared when he had been ushered out of the room disappear at the state of Ren's health. Still upset with the Hokage who had the nerve to tease him, he only nodded.

"I see, Jiraiya said if that was the case I should tell you. Because of the demon sealing itself, the seal was personalized. As you know each seal placed on Jinchuuriki's are different; Garra's allowed the demon to change the host's form and have control over the body on rare occurrences, Naruto is able to tap into Kyuubi's power at will and can talk to it. Plus he told me only at a certain point would he body full change, but it would be nothing like Garra's. Now with Ren, her demon has taken over before correct?" Tsunade received another nod.

"And I'm assuming Ren was in an emotional state before it took over." Seconds passed before Sasuke finally nodded. "Good, because what I can tell that is normal. It may try to connect wit her, but I'm assuming it won't be until she is older and more capable of handling its power.

"Now what you need to worry about right now is yourself. The only reason you aren't in a dungeon or dead, was because you were injured and from the report I got, you also fought against Orochimaru. Since you did defect form Konoha to side with an enemy, you need to be tried by the council to see what will happen." Tsunade watched the boy, in her eyes, take in the information, yet it seemed to her he could care less about the trial.

'With good reason I imagine, since those damn bastards in the council would love to have the last of the Uchiha's in their grubby paws, and they will still want heirs just in case something happens to this one.'

"What will happen with Ren? She did fight for Orochimaru." Sasuke questioned the Godaime. Just because he was sure the council wouldn't at least kill him, of his adopted-daughter he wasn't so sure.

"As I see if both of you are unmarked shinobi. You don't wear the sigma of the Sound, or any other village, so neither of you have any sort of allegiance. If I tell the council that Ren was just a victim of Orochimaru and that she has ties to you they could manipulate, I see no reason not to accept her as an academy student in the village."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the mention of Ren and manipulation. Orochimaru had done the same thing…or tried to at least. If Sasuke could have, a smirk would have appeared on his face, but he didn't want the women to suspect anything. If they want to learn about Ren, then they might as well experience the same torture Orochimaru faced. After all even while hell hath no fury like women scorn, and a pissed off eight year-old girl was far worse then hell.

Moving out of the way to let the busty blonde pass and leave through the still open door, he was stunned when he felt a hand roughly rap his head. Turning his face, with widened eyes, Sasuke only saw Tsunade smirking again.

"Next time try not to let your kid see you going at it so openly." The mouth that was usually set in a straight line, drop open, leaving Sasuke looking like a fish…a soon to be pissed fish…but a fish none the less. 'Damn I really need to start carrying a camera.' Finished with her teasing, and soon to explode form the laughter she was holding in, Tsunade rushed out of the room.

Snapping back from his fish look, to the frown and glare that was usual on the Uchiha's face, only one thought repeated itself in his mind.

'That woman is dead. Hokage or not.' Spinning on his heel, he only had to take a few steps before reaching the door the women had slammed shut on her way out. Cracking it open, he paused in his action as Naruto's voice entered the room. The voice saying the one name Sasuke hated even more than Orochimaru's.

"Do you think they'll send Itachi for Ren too? After all she is here now, and it be like killing two birds with one stone." As the word 'killing slipped from his mouth, Naruto winced, realizing that that wasn't the best choice of words when in came to Akatsuki.

"I'll ask my sources, but the possibility is high. This section is after all that boy's and the shark man's territory. It be rare to see them out of it." Jiraiya replied, his voice matching Naruto's whispering tone, but for Sasuke it felt as if they were screaming.

"How long?" Jiraiya just shrugged at the question. Pushing himself away from the wall he had been leaning on and into Sasuke's view.

"Just don't let the Uchiha kid find out. Remember what happen when we went to look for Tsunade. That kid almost killed himself, and I rather not have a crazy upset and ready to main little girl on my hands."

"Beat up by a little girl, I can't wait for that day." Laughter reached Sasuke's ears, but he could only see red. Itachi was coming. After so many years the chance to finally avenge his family was at hand. If he could just leave then he could track down his brother, all he had to do was wait for the opportune moment and then he could escape.

But…

"Sasuke-tousan?" Closing the door on the two outside, Sasuke turned to the person who had called out his name. Ren was sitting on her bed, one small hand rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The innocence the girl carried was amazing, but she was only innocent to a point. The point seen by many of the shinobi's who had tried to exploit her and gotten her fangs.

This girl and he even would admit it, Naruto, were the reason for one brief second he had thought of forgetting his brother. Forgetting about everything and trying to live a peaceful, normal life. But he knew it would be fake, his life wasn't peaceful nor was it normal.

"Yes Ren?" Going to her side, iceberg eyes meet dark ones, and a huge smiled spread on the girls face.

"I'm glad you're still here Sasuke-tousan. That you didn't leave…" Ren paused, her smile bit by bit fading. "I don't want to go back…I never want to back to Orochimaru-sama! Never to the place were mommy died." The last words were whispered. The icebergs eyes dulling and the small face scrunched in pain, her mind bringing up the painful memories she had blocked away.

"Ren." Turning to meet the dark eyes, the small girl let a smile spread across her face.

"So…enjoy your kiss?" To anyone else the question would have been embarrassing, but Sasuke could tell that Ren was up to something, and if that something could get him out of answering _that_ question, then he would take it.

"Though I don't see why you would kiss such a baka. Sasuke-tousan might catch his stupidity." The grin on her face spread wider, the twinkle in her eyes proving she was trying to irritate someone. But who?

"What did you say you little imp?" The loud voice that only belonged to one person, shouted.

"Narupo is a baka. Baka, baka, baka." Ren answered, happy that her prey had taken in the bait. Stomping over Naruto stood by the foot of the bed, one of his veins on his forehead twitching as if it was about to pop.

"If I'm a baka why can't you say my name right, huh?"

Sasuke looked from one to the other. The moon-haired girl who would insult and the blonde would insult right back. Both were acting like three year olds, which probably wasn't hard for either of them.

Realizing he was being ignored, Sasuke let out an abnormal sigh. These two people were the reason. They were the reason why he had decided to put off on going to find and kill his brother. But before his brother came Orochimaru, if he couldn't defeat the snake Sannin, it would be pointless to try and fight his brother.

"Itaii! Sasuke-tousan, Naruto baka hit me!"

"That's cuz you bit me!"

"And you taste funny!"

"Well you look funny!"

'Why did I have to choose such loud and stupid people?'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Xiexie (thanks in Chinese) and please review because I love reading them and knowing what you think.


	6. The Change in the Air

**ALL EXPLINATIONS WILL BE GIVEN AT THE END. **

**ENJOY THE STORY! Pheme **

"Blah" - Talking

'Blah'- Thinking

_'Blah'_- Kyuubi or Houkou talking

♪Sairen♪- scene change

♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter VI: The Change In the Air

"Sasuke…Sasuke wake up!" Sasuke's eyes slowly peeled open, sleep still clinging onto his lids, but his mind was clear enough to know the person who was trying to wake him up was going to die a nice and slow death.

"Sasuke wake up NOW!"

The unexpected strike to his head and the scream into his ear, that he was sure would leave him deaf, had the last of the Uchiha rapidly sitting up startled. His dark eyes turned to the person who had dared to hit him, and instead of seeing a blonde, he saw sparkling green eyes encircled by pink hair.

Sakura muffled the giggle that was forcing its way past her lips. Sasuke Uchiha wasn't the type of the person to be caught of guard. In fact everything about the Uchiha had changed from their genin years, this couldn't be the Sasuke she knew, it was impossible. The old Sasuke would have dodged her strike to his head, a kunai would have been pressing against her throat at this moment, and Naruto would be yelling something in the background.

But instead of kunai's, all that Sasuke was threatening to pierce her with were his smoldering black eyes, glazed over with sleep, but still glaring.

"Sakura?" The voice still retaining huskiness from sleep, sounded oddly innocent, unlike the grouchy and monotone voice that usually came out of Sasuke's mouth. For the first time in her whole life Sakura was seeing Sasuke. The one devoid of all his layers of protection; without revenge contaminating every thought, just a normal Sasuke. A Sasuke free of all ties to the world, careless, so much like a child.

Seeing that his distraction mission had been a success, Sasuke turned on the small hospital bed, closing his eyes with a small smirk on his lips. It was hard to resist the Uchiha charm.

"Sasuke-tousan isn't a morning person. He will do practically anything to keep his morning sleep time. Though he often forgets what he says during those times." Sakura jumped at the sudden voice to her side. A head of moon colored hair instantly told her who the voice belonged too, but the medic nin found it off that she hadn't sensed the girl wake up, or even approaching her.

"I never would have imagined. Naruto I could see sleeping in, but Sasuke was always there first, when we had to meet with Kakashi-sensei." The perfect image of Sasuke was slowly cracking, and little bits of his true self were showing.

"Yup yup, he usually has four alarm clocks ringing together, and then five other ringing after the first ones are done. No one ever tried to go to sleep when Sasuke-tousan was trying to get up." Laughter poured out of Ren's lips, Sakura's eyes could only widen at the confession Ren found funny.

As the information slowly sank in, an evil gleam appeared in green eyes. As odd as it was to hear the weakness the Uchiha had, to Sakura it showed the Sasuke was in fact human. And because she had finally found out his weakness, what kind of friend would she be, if she didn't exploit it?

After all, she had been on Naruto's case since the Academy, and Sasuke rarely was yelled at or even hit. It was about time Sasuke got the same treatment as her blonde teammate.

"Any idea how to wake him up?" Iceberg eyes turned to Sakura innocently, blinking slowly as if thinking. At any other time, Sakura would have awed at the cuteness and she would have too, if Ren's innocence hadn't been rapidly replaced by a feral grin. Dread entered the pink haired medic nin's body at the sudden change, but it was worth it.

'I think.' Sakura thought to herself, the grin combining with her mix feelings about what would be done to Sasuke.

"I know the perfect way." Moon colored hair spun with the girl as she turned on the balls of her feet, her feet padding softly on the white tile.

Ren worked quickly running back and forth across the room, gathering different items from each side. By the end of the personal scavenger hunt, Ren had a bed pan filled with ice cubs and slowly cooling water and rope. Waddling, Ren carried the pan to the edge of Sasuke's bed, eyeing the area around the Uchiha's body.

"Sakura-san?" The innocent voice had returned, and the pouting lips were something the medic kunoichi couldn't deny.

"Yes, Ren?"

"Can you please put this on the bar above Sasuke-tousan's bed." Behind the innocent smile, Sakura could see a tricksters gleam in the iceberg eyes. An exact copy of the same gleam Naruto wore when he played pranks. Smiling wider, Sakura tried to stop the corners of her mouth from twitching. Fearing for the town for when they realized they had another prankster on their hands.

Grabbing the pan, Sakura climbed unto the bed, trying not to step on any limbs and wake up the sleeping figure below. Even if Ren had said it took a lot for Sasuke to wake up, if his body even thought for one second it was under attack, it would just switch to auto polite and she would be dead. With precision, Sakura balanced the pan on the thin strip of metal, wondering for a second how this was going to work.

Looking down, green eyes watched Ren tying the end of the rope to Sasuke's wrist. Giving one more glance to the pan, making sure it wouldn't fall off to early, Sakura jumped away without disturbing the sleeping figure. For a second wondering why she was using her shinobi skills to play a prank. 'Naruto's old ways are rubbing off and me…though …it's a lot better than Kakashi's.'

Finished with the last of the small details, Ren backed away from the bed, leaving a large space between the soon to be wet bed and her body. Cupping her hands around her mouth, Sakura heard the young girl take in a deep breathe, before releasing a shrill scream in the form of a name.

"SAS-UKE-TOU-SAN!"

At the sound of his name, Sasuke jerked wake, unknowingly moving the wrist that had been tied to the rope as he made an attempt to grab his kunai's. At the tug of the rope, the basin filled with the water, lost its balance, flipping over and dropping the ice bits and cold water on the ebony haired nin.

Dark eyes opened in shock, before narrowing at the only person who was willing to play this prank and instead of play innocent, be on the floor laughing. Before Ren's name could sprout from his lips, another accidentally tug from his wrist sent the basin, which had gotten stuck on the parallel bars, crashing down with a resonating 'thump'.

Sakura couldn't hold in her laughter anymore, and the murmurs coming from her ex-crushes lips was all she need to lose her control and join in with Ren.

"What kind of shinobi can't dodge that kind of an attack…from a kid?" Sakura asked through snorts. Pulling the basin of his head, Sasuke threw it at the two laughing girls. Even in his predicament he was Sasuke Uchiha, and his aim was never off.

"Ren, you're being a pest." The sleepiness that he had lost because of screams and ice cold water slowly started to reenter his body. Ignoring his daughter and ex-teammate, he was focusing more on laying his head back unto the semi-comfortable pillow without touching the wet spots, and returning back to his dream about a sun.

"Come on Sasu-chan, I know you have to worry about your beauty sleep and impressing your husband but if you're good in the sac that's all that matters." All occupants of the room turned to the door of the hospital room, and the person who would be dead in a matter of seconds.

At the sight of the masked ANBU, Ren body tensed up. Ripples of fear and excitement coursed through her, her nails clawing at the tile ready to push the girl off the floor. Yet before the young girl could even give the command to her limbs to jump, she was picked up by hands under her arms.

Turning her head, cool iceberg eyes found endless ditches of darkness, and Ren's eyes lost their frosty bite. Even while many claimed Sasuke was on the verge of being completely emotionless, Ren knew better.

'As Sasuke-tousan told me, 'you must always look underneath the underneath'.' Behind Sasuke's calm exterior, his stoic façade, he was gentle, considerate and even loving. All Ren needed to do was to look into his eyes and she knew he cared, the warmth was unnoticeable to everyone but her and that made her feel special.

"Sasuke-tousan?" Needing no response, Ren , with some effort, turned her body, clasping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The warmth radiating underneath the wet water had Ren smiling, happy she was protected and cared for.

"You changed your mask Kiba." Sasuke stated, unsure of what else to say while holding his daughter. This type of physical affection while not all too new to him was still not one he wished to show in front of others. Especially if one of the people was the same person he was plotting ways to torture without killing him accidentally.

At the Uchiha's comment Kiba's face, behind his rabbit mask, turned a slight shade of pink, either out of anger or embarrassment, maybe even both.

"Yeah well my captain was pissed I had taken it off around civilians." Kiba said trying to get past the fact he was wearing the rabbit mask his captain had deemed as the 'when you do something idiotic' mask.

"And his captain was angry about another certain comment he said." Moving Kiba away from the door he had up till now been blocking, Shino walked in, giving a nod to Sasuke who returned it back. Sakura's laughter reduced into muffled giggles, words trying to explain the reason for Usagi's appearance.

"Sasuke, Usagi is here to take you to the Hokage. The pretrial finished this morning, and she wanted to discuss the verdict with you. And Shino is here because…" Sakura trailed off, not entirely sure why Shino had come when he wasn't part of the ANBU.

"Usagi wanted me to protect him from Sasuke. He kept me up screaming about how Sasuke would feed him to snakes." Shino finished were Sakura had trailed off, his tone proving his irritation for caving into Kiba's pleas. Shino was sure, if he had at least gotten an hour of sleep, he would have never come with Kiba.

"I see." Rising one ebony eyebrow at Shino, the eyeglass wearing shinobi understanding instantly that he had revealed a part of his life that only few knew about…and whoever Kiba bragged to when he was drunk.

Feeling the tension in the air, Sakura tried to think of what she could do, before the ticking time bomb exploded. Ren caught the green eyes, and Sakura instantly thought of her way out of the to-be disaster. Slapping her balled hand to her palm, everyone turned to look at her.

"Here let me hold Ren for you, you can't go and see the Hokage in those wet, hospital clothes." 'Though others have worn less.' Sakura thought to herself as she remembered when Naruto had teleported to the Hokage's office in only his pajamas bottoms.

"Kakashi-sensei brought by some clothes, they should be in the bathroom." Thankfully she had avoided the fight that was going to happen between Sasuke and Kiba…at least for now. Holding out her arms for Ren, Sasuke tried to detach Ren's limbs from his body but she held on tightly, being her usual stubborn self.

"Ren." He warned, a silver eyebrow lifted while the iceberg eyes tried to glare at him. Matching her, he raised his own eyebrow and glared. After a few seconds she loosened her hold on Sasuke's neck and waist, a pout touching her lips with the knowledge that she had once more failed to out glare him.

Falling into the arms of the pink-haired kunoichi, Ren hung limp, her eyes following Sasuke as he entered the room's bathroom. The room turned quiet except for the sound of shoes scuffling that was caused by Kiba. Sakura racked her brain, hoping to pull out another amazing idea so the sniffling that was coming from the child in her arms wouldn't turn into the bomb she had prevented seconds before.

'What was I interested in when I was eight?' Sakura asked herself, only for the answer to walk out of the bathroom. 'Oh yeah…it was Sasuke.' Running her eyes over her ex-teammates body, she remembered why she had obsessed for so many years. Garb in the typical uniform for chuunin and jounin; the black shinobi pants clung loosely on the Uchiha's hips with the dark navy blue long sleeve shirt spread nicely across his chest. Even if the clothes were only a bit big, they still clung on to enough of the Uchiha's good points that Sakura would have drooled if she hadn't kept her body in check.

Walking towards her, Sakura could imagine years ago her heart would be erratic yet now it was calm. Proving even when Sasuke looked delectable in the shinobi uniform that seemed to accent his pale skin more than anything she had ever seen him wear, Sakura's feelings for him were gone.

Ignoring the pink-haired medic kunoichi, Sasuke kneeled down, putting his hand on moon-colored locks before ruffling them slowly. Looking up, a teary eyed Ren meet Sasuke's effort at a smile. Seeing that he was trying to apologize, Ren rapidly tried to erase the evidence of her tears while smiling back widely to Sasuke.

"Be good." With the whisper that only Ren could hear, Sasuke stood motioning with a jerk of his head that he was ready to go; he followed Kiba out the door with Shino behind him.

"He'll be back before you know it." Sakura said, hearing the sniffling coming from the girl in her arms. Realizing, by now Ren was probably uncomfortable just hanging , Sakura slowly put her down making sure Ren had her footing before letting go.

"He has too." Ren replied, her eyes still watching the door, the back of her slightly bronzed hand rubbing away the tears. At the comment, Sakura was left once more with no idea what to do.

Give her a patient with half of his body covered in third degree burns, internally bleeding and on the hanging by a string to life and Sakura knew she had the ability to heal them. But give her a crying child, and she was as useless as Naruto. 'Probably even more since Naruto would at least get the child to laugh.'

"So how did you meet Sasuke?"

"He doesn't love you." The childish worry was gone from Ren's voice, replaced by pure hatred. Sakura's eyes widened at the sudden change that had taken place, she wasn't sure whether it was the demon or Ren, but which ever one she couldn't help but feel sorry for. Gulping, Sakura tried to think of the next thing to say, but before she could coughs erupted from her throat from somehow swallowing her salvia down the wrong tube.

Ren turned around, pealing her eyes from the door, concern for the coughing Sakura shown in her eyes, before reverting to a hating glare no doubt Ren had learned from Sasuke.

"Ren…that has nothing to do with my question." Standing up tall, Sakura crossed her arms across her chest, giving Ren the best impersonation of her mother when Sakura had been younger and misbehaved. But the angry scowl and narrow eyes did nothing to Ren, even while Sakura was taller, the way Ren met Sakura's glare was proof enough she wasn't even the bit intimidated. 'Damn, she's like a little Sasuke.'

"You're being nice to me. Ladies are only nice to me when they want Sasuke-tousan's attention and the others because they are scared." The words slipped from the small lips before Ren had a chance to even try and stop them. However, everything she had said was true and Ren knew it.

In Orochimaru's lair the shinobi's were always treating her with respect, but behind her back they spoke horrible words, simply blaming her because she was there. And all the women that had ever come up to her, always wanted to get her to introduce them to Sasuke. To Orochimaru she was nothing more than a tool, just as Sasuke was. Sasuke had nothing to gain for being nice to her, but he still was and for that reason Ren protected Sasuke to the best of her abilities.

"Ren, there are people like that, but there are also people who aren't like that at all." Bending down to Ren's eye level, Sakura smiled at her kindly.

"Ren I want to get to know you, I want to know how Sasuke has been doing. He is my friend, and you are too." Reaching one of her hands out, Sakura cupped Ren's cheek, trying to prove to her that the words she spoke were true.

"Friend?" The word was asked, as if Ren didn't know the meaning.

"Yes. And if you must know, I got over my crush on your father a long time ago. My concern is because he is someone I care about, not love." Ren lowered her gaze, taking in the medic nin's words, but still unsure of what to say back.

The silence once more entered the room and Sakura had to wonder if this was what Naruto went through when he had gone off and talked with Sasuke. Shaking her head, she came away from the thoughts of her other two teammates and thought of a way to talk to Ren.

"Well since we are waiting, why don't I give you a check up and you can tell me all about yourself." Looking up from studying the floor tiles, Ren tilted her head as if she was considering the proposition.

"I will, if…if you tell me about yourself too!" Nodding in agreement, Sakura scoop Ren into her arms and placed her on the edge of the bed. Pushing chakra in her hand, it wasn't to long before a pale green glow surrounded the appendage.

"Uh…"

"Sakura." Running her glowing hand slowly over Ren's forehead she offered her name, knowing the girl probably had no idea.

"Sakura-san…"

"Sakura-chan is fine." Looking up, the medic nin was given the gift of Ren's widest smile.

"Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan." Ren repeated the name over and over, testing the name with her tongue. Giggling at the girl's antics, she ran her hand over one of the arms before doing the next one.

"Ren-chan what did you do during the days?" If it had been anyone else, Sakura would have rather asked questions that dealt with Orochimaru, but given what she assumed had happened in Ren's life, it wouldn't have been the best option.

"I mostly spent time with Sasuke-tousan and training with whoever Orochimaru-sama told me to.

As she ran her glowing hand over one of Ren's calf, she raised her eyebrow at hearing the respect the Snake Sannin was getting. Over looking it for now, Sakura returned her attention to examining the other leg.

"Nothing else?" The girl paused, unsure how to respond. Gathering her courage Ren told the pink haired medic nin, one more flaw the Uchiha seemed to posses.

"No. Because…because whenever I was around Sasuke-tousan…he seemed more alive…less lonely."

♪Sairen♪

'Just because were friends now, doesn't mean she can take advantage of me and make me take her shifts. She is just as lazy as Shikamaru.' Ino thought angrily as she bandaged one of the villagers arms.

Screaming voices from the outside drew Ino's attention away from the man.

"I wonder what's going on?" Ino mumbled out loud, her hands automatically continuing the bandaging.

"Probably saw the Uchiha, haven't heard screams so loud since he left." Ino's patient answered, his theory proven right as a large group of girls passed the rooms window. An embarrassed grin was on Ino's face at the memory of how when she was younger had chased after Sasuke. 'Lets just hope Sasuke got a head start.'

♪Sairen♪

"Hokage-sama. Sasuke Uchiha is here." The voice outside Tsunade door, removed her from the peaceful sleep. Yawning, Tsunade pried away the paper that had stuck to her cheek.

"Ah yes, let him in." Shuffling the papers on her desk, the Godaime tried to look productive without hinting that she hadn't done anything that day. The turning of the doorknob brought her attention solely onto the door. Pushing the door open Sasuke stepped through, followed by Shino and a limping Usagi. A mix of a scowl and a smile gracing the Uchiha's face, told Tsunade that he was the cause for the ANBU's injury.

"Usagi, do you mind telling me why you're limping?" Behind his mask Kiba was sending daggers at Sasuke. 'Fucking Sasuke and his fucking fan club. How come I was the one that was pushed in front of them!? Better yet why hadn't they disbanded when the fucking bastard left?'

"I was used as a sacrifice Hokage-sama." At his statement Tsunade's eyebrow rose, unsure whether to she could laugh out loud or just keep quite. Hiding her lips behind her intertwined hands that were propped unto the desk, the Godaime tried to show the ANBU the respect he deserved.

It had been the screaming girls that had initially woken her up form her midday nap and she wasn't surprised to see Sasuke arriving earlier than it would have taken if he had calmly walked. But the one thing she hadn't been expecting was seeing her best shinobi's scared of fan girls. Tightening her lips, Tsunade tried the keep in the snickers that were looking for a way to escape.

"Lets get this meeting over so I can go back to drink…working." Ignoring the slip up, the three shinobi gave their full attention to Tsunade. It wasn't a secret that Konoha's Hokage, the Godaime, one of the three Sannin, was an alcoholic and a gambling addict. It just made her one of the saner Sannin. Turning to Shino, Tsunade spoke her order.

"Aburame-san, can you please go and fetch the gaki for me, he seems to have picked up his sensei's habit of turning up late." Shino nodded, a look of relief passing over his usual stoic features. Shino knew whatever the council had decided it would get the Uchiha fuming, and even though he wasn't scared, he would rather not be anywhere near the Uchiha when Tsunade told him. Turning around, Shino walked out the door, not without sending a small smirk to Usagi, who he would bet all the bugs that dwelled in his home, was swearing behind his mask.

At the sound of her office door closing, Tsunade reached down to one of her drawers. Rummaging around for a few seconds, she finally produced a bottle of sake and saucer.

"Now before I tell you what the council has decided Uchiha, I want to make one thing perfectly clear." Pouring the sake into the porcelain saucer, she watched the clear liquid fill the saucer quickly. Raising the saucer into the air, her brown eyes narrowed at Sasuke.

"If you _ever_ defect again and cause so much trouble, I won't hesitate to personally kill you." With her last word, she dip the cup into her lips, the burning sensation reminding her she was alive.

Behind his mask Kiba gulped, her tone promising to make her words true. Even with the cryptic message, Kiba understood who she was referring too, and if he understood that, then Sasuke had as well. The slam of the porcelain saucer on the wooden desk almost made Kiba jumped. And the inu-nin would have chided himself for acting like a genin if it wasn't for the fact that the air was coursing with killer intent.

Ignoring the ANBU, and the missing-nin, Tsunade poured herself some more sake, debating whether of not she should have to start buying the bigger bottles.

"The council was pleased to see that you came back by your own will, and the fools wanted to reinstate you right away, jounin title and all the perks. But unlike them, I see no reason to trust you, nor frankly do I trust you." Pausing Tsunade threw the drink once more down her throat, pouring herself more before continue

"And for that reason for the next six months a shinobi of my choosing will be by your side night and day. He will report to me how you act and if you there is anything I should be suspicious about. If by the first three months, he finds you loyal to Konoha, I will reinstate you to genin level and you can take a special examination. If nothing has happened after six months, you will no longer be followed. After completing a year's worth of D-missions and anything assigned to your watcher, and you have proven helpful, I will consider you a citizen of Konoha. You should be grateful, if I had my way you would stay a genin forever. And Sasuke if your watcher even suspects another defect or betrayal, he has permission to kill, if I don't first. Is it understood?"

Sasuke started at the busty blonde, unsure of what to say. He had a perfect retort in the back of his throat, but even if he had said it nothing would change. 'If anything, she would probably make my life even worse.' Accepting her terms, Sasuke nodded, watching the Godaime smirk before launching her third cup of sake down her throat.

The Godaime couldn't help but smirk, just because she was the Hokage now didn't mean she couldn't drive people insane. After all what was the point of being older (not old), if you couldn't use your authority. A knock resonated throughout the silent room, followed by the crack of thunder and flash of lighting outside of Tsunade's office. Looking behind her, Tsunade was surprised at the weird weather; she could have sworn that this morning it had been sunny and now dark clouds filtered out any light.

The door to her office slowly creaked open. Turning to the opening door, Sasuke could have sworn that Tsunade was talking about his watcher, but no sound was entering his ears. His whole mind was focused on the figure that was opening the door at an undying slow pace.

'No not him, please kami not him. Anyone but him!' Sasuke shouted in his mind, knowing if he got the one shinobi he could resist, all his plans would be lost forever. As the door opened completely, a blonde hair, blue eyed, whisker marked cheeked shinobi stomped in.

"Baaaaa-chan," Naruto drew the name out with his whine, "why did you call for me, you said after the last mission I could have a break." Ignoring the complaining, loudmouth blonde, Tsunade turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, Naruto will be the one to baby-sit you for the next six months. I'm hoping you won't break anything." The hidden meaning reached Sasuke's ears, the words trickling into his mind, festering before all the rage was release on the innocent ceiling that stood no chance against an Uchiha's glare. The glaring shinobi cursed the gods that had refused to listen to his pleas and who were more than likely laughing at his situation.

But even while Kiba caught the meaning, Naruto was the opposite from the calm and collected Uchiha. His face was scrunched up as if he was thinking.

'How the hell did he pass any of the examination?' Kiba questioned himself, before Naruto's face relaxed, as if the blonde had figured out the answers.

And with a response that was typical Naruto, all the other occupants were once again shocked at the density that was Naruto Uzumaki.

"What?"

♪Sairen♪

"Any seven's?"

"Go Fish." Mumbling about how impossible it was that she was being beaten by an eight year old, Sakura reached for the next card in the deck. The sudden flash of lighting caught both of their attentions. Ren shook as the lighting lit up the sky, for where there was lighting there was always thunder.

"Something is going to change soon." Ren voice was so low, the words couldn't even be considered a whisper, but still Sakura knew she had heard something

"What Ren?" Looking a Sakura, Ren shook her head, unwilling to explain.

"It was nothing Sakura-san," Ren replied, not noticing the grim look that passed over the pink medic kunoichi's face at the formal title, which left her feeling as old as Tsunade. It had been said Sakura was a younger version of Tsunade, and being taught by the women herself, it would have been bizarre if Sakura hadn't picked up on the trait of hating anything that reminded her she was aging.

"Though…when is Sasuke-tousan coming back?" Snapping away from the Inner Sakura, who was screaming about her beauty and turning old, Sakura looked to the door past Ren, half expecting to see Sasuke walking in at that moment.

"He should be here soon Ren. Don't worry." Sending a calming smile to the moon colored haired child, Ren nodded. Looking at the red cards in her tan hands, Ren spoke.

"Have any King's?" Sakura gave a glance to her cards, before a sigh escaped her lips. Plucking the newest addition from her last 'Go Fish' away from the others, she handed it over to a wide grinning Ren.

♪Sairen♪

"Baa-chan you're kidding right? Come on it is because I set off those stink bombs last week, or because I keep calling you old. I promise I won't do it again. I can't even take care of children! Konohamaru almost always ends up close to killing me whenever we do stuff together, and her demon hates me. The fucking thing wants to kill me. What other reason do you need?" Naruto was panting as he finished screaming at Tsunade, no longer caring that Sasuke or Usagi were still in the room.

Tsunade eyed him coolly, pouring more sake in her saucer without taking her eyes away from her blonde. His cerulean eyes were shining brighter, his gaze on no one but the Godaime. Throwing the sake down her throat for the forth time, she waited patiently feeling the burn of the alcohol.

"Naruto, if Ren or Sasuke looses control and try to defect, you are the only one who can really stop them. Ren's demon is dangerous. I'm sure both Sasuke and Kyubbi are aware of that. Just see this as a test to prove yourself to the elders." The unsaid word resonating in both of their minds was, 'again'.

Sasuke looked from the busty blonde leader to the jinchuuriki container, unsure of what was going on. Yet with the dismal expressions on both their faces, he could easily guess.

"Now Sasuke, one more thing, the elders will keep pushing for a faster reinstatement, but I'd rather lose you than lose any shinobi's who feel betrayed by the corrupt system that appreciates blood lines more than loyalty. It's bad enough that I'm letting you live. When you get tested, you will be tested by your peers, not by me or the council. You and Ren both have to prove yourself to Konoha's shinobi's, for without their approval, I will not give me consent to the elders. Is that understood?"

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"Well at least some one is showing me the respect I deserve." Tsunade said; a smirk pasted on her face, as the comment was made towards Naruto. Pouting, Naruto crossed his arms, knowing that he did show her respect…every now and then that is.

"Sasuke, Gaki, Usagi, you're all dismissed." Moving her hands in a shooing fashion Tsunade used her other hand to pour more sake. Taking in her dismissal the three turned away from the Godaime, Naruto going slower than the rest.

"Shizune-niichan will be here in half and hour baachan. I would try to catch up on your beauty sleep; you're starting to show your age." Smirking at Tsunade, Naruto shut the door rapidly a moment before the sound of the sake bottle hitting the wooden door resonated throughout the hall. Sliding down the door Naruto laughter was spilling over his lips, so much so that he was having trouble breathing.

Looking to each other Kiba and Sasuke rolled their eyes at the blonde who was the only one laughing at his own joke. Sensing the silence around him, cerulean eyes looked up, meeting a pair of sunglass rimmed eyes that had appeared out of nowhere.

Even though Shino and Naruto had never been that close of friends, Naruto thrived to be type of person who could understand everyone's desires. Flicking away the teardrop that had escaped his eye and was tracking down his face, the drop flew across the air before decreasing it speed and falling down towards the carpet of the hallway.

"Usagi, why don't I escort Sasuke back to the hospital, I'm his baby-sitter anyway." Behind his rabbit mask, Kiba raised an eyebrow at the blonde, unsure if he should really follow the suggestion.

"But my captain…"

"I'll cover for you Usagi." Kiba sighed in defeat, yet happy at least that he wouldn't get in trouble for skipping out on his duties.

"Well than later Naru-chan. Uchiha." Nodding his head at the two, he pivoted on his heels, making his way towards the awaiting Shino. Passing Sasuke, Kiba made sure to release an animalistic growl, low enough that only Sasuke could hear it. His growl, much like Tsunade's threat, held the same warning.

Meeting Shino were he was standing the two continued around the bend, before Naruto felt the pull of chakra and soon the familiar popping sound of the teleporting jutsu. Pushing himself off the floor, Naruto stood next to Sasuke were the same feeling as three days ago took over. The feelings that some thing was wrong, as if somebody had just threatened to kill.

"We need to travel by rooftop." Sasuke told the blonde, who was currently to busy thinking about who would dare to threaten the Uchiha to actually be paying attention to him. After minutes from hearing no response from Naruto, Sasuke looked over the see the said blonde in deep thought. His face scrunched up as if what he was considering was of the out most importance.

"Dobe." Muttering the name he had given the blonde when they were younger, Sasuke turned away from Naruto walking towards the stairs that led up to the roof. As if awakened by the muttering of his old name, Naruto blinked rapidly realizing that Sasuke was walking away.

"Hey teme! Where do you think you are going?! I'm your baby-sitter and I say we are going by the streets!" Throwing his nose into the air trying to act as snotty as he could, Naruto walked down the stairs, checking behind his back every now and then to see if Sasuke was following.

Sasuke fought against himself as he tried to hide the smirk that wanted to spread as Naruto went closer and closer to the entrance of the Hokage building. Looking past the blonde, Sasuke noted the two young chunnin were standing on the inside of the door, instead of being on the outer entrance. The guard's only job was to watch the streets for any threats, yet for them to be inside the building, not following orders, something was wrong. And Sasuke knew exactly what was wrong.

Coming to the wooden door that separated the building from the village, Naruto didn't notice the two guards who stood on both sides of the door, and the pale faces that graced both of them. Throwing the door open, the two young guards scrambled to shut the door before what was outside could attack.

Instead of hearing the shopkeepers and the villagers passing by, the sound of one name being screamed at the top of the girls lungs rang.

"SASUKE-KUN!"

Finally realizing why the guards, not only had not been outside, but also so shaken, Naruto slammed his body against the door trying his hardest to close the Pandora type box he had opened

"Bastard you could help!" Naruto yelled, his pleas getting lost between the screams of Sasuke's name and the high-pitched squeals of pleasure.

Sasuke watched with his intensive eyes as the fan girls clawed at the door, and the blonde who was trying to get them al back outside. The guards, who were trying to help Naruto, yet an attack by fan girls was something that usually wasn't drilled into an shinobi in the academy.

"On the count of 3, push." Naruto yelled at the two young guards, who vigorously nodded, wanting to follow any commands that would get them away. "1…2…3!" Enhancing their limbs with chakra the three men pushed the door shut, the screams dieing away to faint echoes behind the thick door.

"Well I don't think they will be able to get through that…" At the moment Naruto finished talking, a huge cracking sound resonated through out the hall. The two guards looked at each other, their faces drained completely from fear; both knew what they had to do.

"Thanks Uzumaki-san. We will remember your sacrifice forever!" With a quick bow, the two turned away running as fast as their legs could take them.

"The roof then?" Sasuke smirked, merely asking the question to further irate the jinchuuriki. The only answer to his prompt was a glare, which looked more like a pout than an actual glare. Turning on his heel, Sasuke made his way to the stairs, knowing eventually Naruto would have to follow. He was ordered to keep an eye on him anyway.

"Fucking teme." Crossing his arms, Naruto narrowed his eyelids, making his expression look like a quizzical fox, trying to decide whether or not to play a prank. At the sound of the heavy door creaking from the pressure of Sasuke's fan girls, Naruto quickly made up his mind.

And once more Naruto Uzumaki was chasing after Sasuke Uchiha. 'And this time he won't get away.'

♪Sairen♪

"And then Sasuke-tousan turned really really red, and I thought he was going to go 'BOOM'… and then, and then the naked lady was shaking and screaming and then…." Pushing the door open, Sasuke walked in, an eyebrow raised to the child who had a moment before been telling a story.

Looking over at the newest arrival, iceberg colored eyes widened, before lips could spurt out the name.

"Sasuke-tousan!" Giving up on her story, Ren jumped off the bed and ran towards her father. Jumping the last few steps, Ren automatically attached herself to Sasuke's waist, happy with the knowledge that he had returned.

Plucking her away from the ground, Sasuke threw her into the air, catching her with ease, as Ren's laughter spilled out easily.

"How have you behaved today Ren?" Pink lips opened, ready to describe all that had happened while he had been gone, but before one word could be ushered, iceberg eyes locked on to blonde hair. Tensing her body, Ren fought to take her eyes away from Naruto, but as each second passed, her eyes became darker, and her voice eerie and rough.

"Why is _he_ here?"

Glancing from Ren to Naruto, Sasuke was unsure what to do, all he knew was that something had to be done. Catching Sakura's green eyes, she immediately understood, though she knew that her proposal, neither men would like.

"Ren-chan didn't you say you wanted to do some shopping?" Blinking away the ebony spots that had been replacing the white irises, Ren looked to Sakura, before smiling widely. Wiggling away from Sasuke's grasp, Ren fell to the tiled ground, before getting back up to turn to Sasuke, a puppy-dog look gracing her face.

"That's right! Sasuke-tousan can w go shopping, please? Sakura-san told me that there were really amazing stores here." Smiling uncomfortably at the sound of the 'san' after he name, Sakura was about to remind Ren, before her green eyes spotted Naruto laughing quietly behind Sasuke.

"Naruto, you're going to have to come too." At Sakura's words, both jinchuuriki's faced her, their jaws hanging low.

"But Sakura!" Both Ren and Naruto shouted, before turning their faces and glaring at each other. Ren's glare so similar to Sasuke's, that if it wasn't for the fact that Ren was shorter than him by a few feet, Naruto would have sworn he was being glared at by Sasuke himself.

"No 'buts', Sasuke has to get a lot of things for his home, and Ren needs clothing, and I haven't gone shopping in forever, and we need someone to hold everything." Sakura stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Crossing her arms across her lap coat, she humorously waited for the answer.

"What am I a pack mule?" Naruto shouted.

"Well you smell like one." Ren mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear in the room. With a twitching eyebrow Naruto faced Ren, who was simply looking away, feigning innocence.

"What was that you brat?" Looking back at the towering blonde, Ren just stuck out her tongue and pulled down the skin under her left eye with her finger.

"Ren, I've told you…you must always insult people to their faces." Ruffling Ren's silver locks, Sasuke moved passed her, smirking at Naruto.

"You must have gotten dumber in the last few years dobe. An eight year old just insulted you."

"Well at least I have my manly pride, teme." Naruto scoffed.

"If that is what you call you want to call it Naruto." Sakura teased, entering the conversation which reminded her of when they had been genin and had always enjoyed teasing him.

"Don't you have someone to go kill, Sakura?" Naruto taunted back, grinning.

"Yeah, wanna be my next victim, Naruto?" Sakura asked, raising her eyebrow with a wicked leer on her lips.

"I'd rather be the doctor not the victim."

"I don't think anyone would trust you as their doctor dobe." Sasuke said, as if his words were saying the truth.

Pouting over the fact both Sasuke and Sakura had teamed up on him all over again, Naruto turned his head, pretending he had been hurt by the insult. The image that met his eyes was one he had not been expecting. Ren stood at the same spot as before, but her eyes weren't on the trio, but on the windows. Naruto was sure that nothing would knock Ren out of whatever daze she had placed herself in, but the one thing that he was sure about was the overwhelming amount of fear intertwined in the iceberg eyes.

"Naruto…Naruto were you listening to me?" Pulling away from his concern over a kid who had been against him since day one, Naruto look back to Sakura unsure of what to say.

"Mind repeating that Sakura? I kinda had something else on my mind." Giving her the widest grin, a tanned hand rubbed the back of his head, all in attempt to show how sorry he actually was.

"God, no matter how many years pass, you will still be the one and only baka." Sakura muttered to herself, before repeating the question she had asked before.

"I asked you were you where staying with Sasuke and Ren, since the apartment hardly has room for two as it is and with four it might be pushing it." Even with her green eyes connecting perfectly with blue eyes, Sakura couldn't help but to feel like she was acting like Hinata during their genin year; wringing her fingers in a mixture of embarrassment and shyness.

"Haha, I hadn't really though about that…"Smiling even wider, Naruto tried to think of another place he could go. After both he and Sakura had become jounin, they had decided the best idea was just to get an apartment together. Naruto was home enough of the time, that he actually needed a place to stay instead of just a hotel were shinobi's who went on consecutive missions choose. And Sakura just wanted a place closer to the hospital, and a roommate that could actually cook. A fact Sakura learned Naruto actually could do, if given enough ingredients to work with.

"The Uchiha Mansion will be fine." Sasuke declared, instead of offering. Naruto's eyes widened. After all those years of being friends, not once had Sasuke offered his home for anything.

"We are staying in Sasuke-tousan's old home?" The soft voice drew everyone to the little moon colored haired girl who was tightly clutching the end of Sasuke's borrow shirt.

"Yes Ren. We will go there soon." Nodding Ren rubbed her hands over her eyes, trying to eliminate the sleepiness. With a quiet mumble of 'okay', Ren turned to the bed she had been telling a story before and crawled on top of it. All the activities had taken their toll on her.

"Hey when did we decide we were staying at your house teme!" Naruto exclaimed, knowing he had as much a say into the decision as Sasuke and Ren had.

"Do you have any better ideas dobe?" Naruto opened his mouth ready to speak, but quickly closed it as he realized he had nothing to say. Pouting, the only outcome left was to use the Uchiha mansion, and Naruto knew it.

"Fine we can stay there, but if I see any ghosts or random corpses, I'm getting the fuck out!"

And with those last words, the thunder rolled and outside the hospital the lighting lit up the sky.

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Pheme- Hi everyone, I'm so sorry about the long wait but after my last posting a lot of things happened. My co-writer decided she no longer wanted to be part of this story since she gotten over her what she called her 'anime phase', so I had to look for a BETA and I had one but they wanted to change the story since the didn't like yaoi…which makes no since because why would you want to be a BETA for this story if you don't like yaoi. So a few weeks ago one of my friends wanted to try and see if she could do it, and she is amazing, so I'd like to introduce my new BETA…

**Ebonywolf **

She is amazing and I love her, and because of her I will be posting ever other week until we can get a better work ethic that will left me post every week.

I'm sorry again, and don't worry there will be some cute scene in the next chapter. Thanks and don't forget to review, they make my heart soar!


	7. Be Wary Of Tripping Limbs

Pheme: Hey guys, say hello to the new chapter. It's been a long work in progress and then I got side-tracked by the other story and them some essay (go check out London Secrets!) ANNYWAY, back to the good news, in a week I will be on a plane to go down south, and not just south like to in the southern states, though it be hard since you can't go any farther than Arizona and I live there. But I will be going passed the equator and on the sunny beaches of Argentina…all to visit family --, but I will be working on all my stories and I will be posting them. I already have the next few chapters outlined so I'm going to try and get ahead so you guys don't have to wait as long. So this is a long note, so let's go to the story!

"Blah" – Talking

'Blah'- Thinking

'_Blah'_- Kyuubi or Houkou talking

♪Sairen♪- scene change

♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback

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Chapter VII: Be Wary of Tripping Limbs

"So tell me again why, during a thunderstorm, when it's raining cats and dogs, in what must be the middle of the night, we are moving to your fucking spooky house? And why _I'm_ carrying the brat!?" Naruto's bellows drowned out by another crack of thunder, the lighting illuminating the pathway leading to the Uchiha Manor. Naruto had nothing against the house he had never visited, but the eerie and isolated pathway, combined with the random spurts of light, slowly making him wish he had stayed at the hospital.

"Dobe it's still the afternoon, Sakura said we were perfectly fine to go, and I'd rather not have Ren waking up in that room again." Holding the umbrella above Ren and his head, Sasuke glanced at his daughter. When she wasn't opening her mouth, and awake, she was the image of an angel. Her moon colored hair moving with the winds blowing past the trio, her face tranquil and happy. Yet the happiness she had been given would be brief, for Sasuke knew Orochimaru would soon come after him, as would Itachi once word leaked out about Ren and her demon.

"Teme ya mind covering me too? I'd rather not be sick while I have to watch your pale ass." Naruto complained, his tone filled with fake anger. In truth, the control over the fear Naruto had fought since the beginning of the storm, were slowly slipping away. But there was no way in hell he planned on letting it slip in front of the bastard called Sasuke. Not now, not ever. Opening his mouth to make another complaint, ignoring the rumbling of the clouds, Naruto's words never left his mouth as the umbrella shifted, covering the trio as much as it could.

The old friends walked in silence. Neither ready to open their mouths, any conversation starters stale and over used. 'If this is what the next few months are going to be like, I'd rather stab myself with a kunai.' Naruto thought, sending a quick glimpse to his side seeing Sasuke starting at the road ahead, the ebony eyes blank.

With each passing second, the dirt road turned muddy. The empty houses decorated with Uchiha Crests littered both sides, making Naruto feel trapped. The blonde followed Sasuke as he made a turn down another lane. Naruto knew if Sasuke had been someone else, like Kiba, there would be people slowly coming out of the houses, looking mutilated and hungry for the all to hear the jinchuuriki screams of fear.

His thoughts filled with the ideas of rising corpses, Naruto slammed right into an immobile Sasuke. Looking past the stone Sasuke, a house larger than the others and separated from the miniature village stood surrounded by trees. Weeds licking the outside walls like fire to wood. The garden planted by Sasuke's mother all those years ago, now a jungle overrun with weeds.

"Sounded scarier." Naruto remarked, appreciating how the wilderness was taking over the house. He had never been sure if it was Kyuubi's, or his personal taste, but Naruto loved spending as much time as he could outside. He even had gone as far as drowning the balcony of his shared apartment with foliage. Though his love for the plants came at a cost for Sakura, for it wasn't unusual for the bugs living in Naruto's personal garden to enter the apartment, scaring the shit out of the pink haired medic nin. Naruto and Sai constantly teased her about her fear, for it was ironic that Sakura, who had trained under the Slug Sannin, and could easily squash the tiny insects with her powerful fists, simply could not. Instead Sakura yowled for someone else to remove it, as she hung from the ceiling.

The rain pounding on the umbrella borrowed from the hospital, slowly turned into a light shower. Even the dark clouds started to dissipate, streams of pale sunlight breaking through, making Naruto half happy about the fact he no longer had to deal with his least favorite whether condition, but half pissed that Sasuke had been right about the amount of time that had passed.

Stepping outside of the protection of the umbrella and the frozen Uchiha, small droplets graced his body. Walking to the front door, Naruto continued his surveillance of the Uchiha manor. The perfection assumed to be a personality trait in all the Uchiha's, not reflected in the untamed house.

"This is pretty." Naruto's arms automatically tightened on Ren's legs as the girl squirmed around, trying to either get down or see a better view of what would be soon considered her home.

"Sasuke-tousan!" At the call of his name, Sasuke tore his ebony eyes away from the house he hadn't lived since he had left maybe even before that. Sasuke could not remember when he given up keeping the garden weed free, the house clean from dust particles. This house was different than what he remembered, but he could guess the inside would still be the same. The shoes he never had the guts to toss would still be neatly placed at the entrance, slippers in the small cupboard next to the door. The elevated floor leading to all the rooms, laced with clothes he had thrown off the moment he had returned from training or a mission. The kitchen untouched since the death of his mother, the rooms upstairs caked with layers of dust all except his own. For a second Sasuke would have rather been in a cramped apartment than the house filled with past memories.

Demanding to be set down, Ren's feet hardly touched the muddy ground before she rang to the front door of the Uchiha Manor. Whether Sasuke had left the door unlocked the night he'd gone or the door had simply rusted, at Ren's first pull of the wooden door, it opened with a loud creak. Glancing back, iceberg eyes examined the two men who simply stood in the front yard, as if they were scared to wake up the demons stored in the house.

Filled with determination, Ren swept past the door, not caring about the removal of her temporary sandals, her small feet slapping the wooden floor sent years of dust into the air. Laughter exited out of her mouth at the appearance of more clouds of dust. The moment she headed for the staircase leading to the upper rooms, she disappeared from both shinobi's eyes.

"I am not cleaning that house." Were the first words that sprang into Naruto's mind, but his mind was still so shocked about the filthiness of the house, the words slipped past his lips before he knew it.

"_Smart ki_t." Kyuubi purred, the sound more like laughter than an actual purr.

Ignoring the first comment Kyuubi had said in a while, he waited for Sasuke to react. Whether to his words or maybe to the house, either one would at least prove Sasuke was alive at the moment.

"_Jumping him would also prove it."_ Kyuubi stated, this time a barking laughter following his words. _"I can see Houkou's reaction. It would be priceless."_

If he could have, Naruto would have loved to have just slapped his forehead with his palm to get rid of the noise his houseguest was making.

"_Just say yes kit."_ Feeling, more than seeing the nine tail smile, Naruto felt confused before feeling a part of him retreat to the darkness.

"Yes?" Naruto repeated, unsure to what he was answering.

"Knew you would agree dobe." At Sasuke's voice Naruto pivoted, staring at the ebony haired nin, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"What?!" Moving past the gawking blonde, Sasuke entered his house, knowing that the house would not be empty anymore. Ren would fill the house with her energy, Naruto would fill the house with his loudness and Sasuke would just adapt, and maybe lock himself away in a room, before anyone decided to pay him a visit.

"Cleaning my house for me." Sasuke simply stated, a small smirk gracing his face as he teased the jinchuuriki.

"Fuck no Teme! It's your house, you clean it." Naruto declared, crossing his arms across his chest in a sign of defiance, something he could tell Sasuke wasn't buying.

"But won't you be staying here as well Naruto?" The voice behind Naruto questioned, with a hint of glee.

"Yeah, but I ain't cleaning it." Realizing it hadn't been Sasuke who had spoken, Naruto turned around, quickly recognizing the spiky snow white hair that he knew only two people had.

"What do you want Kakashi?" Naruto demanded testy, remembering when he had last seen Kakashi, the man had been bothering Iruka, and dragged his poor sensei away from their usual ramen nights. Not to mention because of said bastard he ended up paying for his own bill!

Pulling down the traditional orange clad book, one drowsy looking eye, eyed Naruto before moving past to see Sasuke standing inside his home.

"How does it feel to be back home Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, stepping around the blonde, who slowly grew angrier angry at the deliberate act of being ignored.

Before Sasuke could even answer his ex-sensei's question, an additional voice called his name, making him turn around the see Ren running down the stairs, another dust storm developing in the after math. Noticing the appearance of the new man, Ren ran quickly to Sasuke's side, her tanned hands gripping his shinobi's pants with an obdurate amount of strength that would make any shinobi envious, and any parent proud.

"So you must be Ren-chan, I've heard a lot about you." Behind the mask Kakashi smiled widely, his eyes crinkling upward. He never really been good with kids, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were proof enough. But if what Tsunade had seen when she had had the two read by ANBU operatives, the two had been through more than anyone would be able to survive. Even a high-ranked shinobi would have been pushed to the point of tears with only half of the acts the Snake Sanin had made them commit.

"Ren, this is Kakashi. He was Sakura's, Naruto's and my old sensei. And at no point in time are you allowed to be alone with him, nor are you allowed to read anything that he provides." Sasuke told her, his eyes focused on Kakashi's solitary one, taunting him to try, and see the result.

"Kakashi-san?" Ren's small voice spoke up, her eyes turning into glittering balls of snow filled with hesitance and fear.

"That's right Ren-chan" Kakashi replied, watching the girl move away from her spot behind Sasuke's leg.

Ren could feel the power the silver-haired nin possessed, but at the moment she couldn't care. There was something about the older man that teased her senses, making her body squirm, dieing to attack. And Sasuke had brought her up to never betray her feelings, lowering her face, a small smirk appeared.

Lifting one of her feet of the ground, Rin aimed for the nin's shin before launching her attack. Back in Orochimaru's lair, Ren fame ran along side the knowledge she would attack anyone who dared to cross her path, or endanger Sasuke. And this shinobi standing before her was just like the blonde. Both were trying to take away her father.

At the strike to his shin, Kakashi yelped, not necessarily excepting such an action from the cute girl. Looking at her, she was smiling sweetly, but the look in her cold eyes told him all he needed to know. Sasuke now had protector, and the child took her job seriously.

"I'm going to explore the rest of the house Sasuke-tousan!" Ren yelled before Sasuke could even reprimand her, or reply to her statement.

"Cute kid." Kakashi muttered, rubbing his injured leg.

"You kidding she's a brat." Naruto corrected, wanting his presence to be known. Turning his head, Sasuke glared at the blonde, while he did agree, Ren also had her cute sides, and she was worth protecting.

"Is there a reason why you are here Kakashi?" Sasuke asked, tired of his ex-teacher standing there. If it were up so Sasuke, Naruto would at the moment inside the house dusting all the furniture and cleaning out the rooms. Maybe even disposing of anything that had been left in the refrigerator, after all take-out only lasted for a few days before it started to taste odd.

"Ah yes, well Iruka heard that you were back Naruto and wanted to know if you be interested in having lunch with him at the Ramen shop, because it somehow got interrupted last time." Kakashi replied, acting as if he didn't know who had interrupted Naruto and Iruka's usual time together.

"I would but…well I can't leave Sasuke…though if you could stay here Kakashi, then I could." Naruto said, his smile reminding Kakashi of the same one that had been on Ren's face a mere second ago. But Kakashi new if Iruka didn't get to see Naruto safe and sound, then the Chuunin would take the kunai that never really left his hostler, and would start chopping things off. Kakashi had faced death more times than he could care to count, but the threats made from Iruka's mouth easily beat everything.

"I would love to reminisce with a former student. But I do think you should take Ren with you, after all she will be living here from now on and she needs to get used to it." Kakashi retorted, bringing his orange book back to reading range. Just because three years had passed didn't mean that Kakashi didn't enjoy making his former team miserable, in fact it was one of his favorite pass times, other than annoying Tsunade, and Iruka.

"I agree." Sasuke stated, the tone of the words allowing no further comment to them. Aside from using this as an excuse to torture Naruto, he needed Ren out of the house, while now, Kakashi, dusted. After all it would only be natural of Ren to be curious about everything, and the house cleaning forgotten for the next following weeks.

As if she hearing her name being called, Ren walked out of the house, her body still wrapped in the winter kimono that Sakura had given her till she could get suitable clothes. The dark blue embroidered with thousands of crescent moons and stars, making the fabric seem as a moving constellation when it spun around.

"Sasuke-tousan?" The inquisitive Ren asked, her eyes flickering from one man to the other.

"You will be going with Naruto to town." At Sasuke's words, Ren's eyes grew, before narrowing to small slits.

"I don't wanna." Ren declared defiantly, praying that if she said no enough times, Sasuke would cave in.

"To bad brat." With the words still hanging in the air, Ren's kimono's collar was tugged upward, her feet soon lifting away from the ground. Once high enough, she was thrown over a shoulder clad in black and orange, like a small sack of potatoes. Blond hair sprang into her vision, and if she had been able to she would have pulled at his hair till he dropped her, and the action would have been done, except that her arms were caught between Naruto's neck, and the arm that was preventing her from falling. It had been like Naruto had predicted that she would have tried such tactic. But just because he had stopped her arms, didn't mean he had stopped her mouth.

"LET ME DOWN!! LET ME DOWN YOU STUPID BLONDIE! YOU IDIOT! YOU ASSHOLE! LET. ME. DOWN!" Ren's screamed ringing through the air. Ignoring the thought he possibly would never hear from that ear again, he sent a slight wave to the remaining two and Naruto happily walked away from the eerie manor. Yes, he had ended up with a pest of his own, but at least when he got back the rooms would be clean, and Ren would have tired herself out.

Or so he hoped.

♪Sairen♪

"So how did you end up with the kid? She can't be your's, because all she has of you is your personality…the violent one too." Kakashi spoke up, Ren's screams still being heard in the air.

"She…was given to me. Her mother could not continue taking care of her." Sasuke could still remember Uta's eyes pleading to take her child, to protect her, the bloody Ren who held the lifeless body in her small arms, the pure black eyes that leapt to kill Orochimaru and even the screams of pain part of Ren's punishment before she was thrown to Sasuke's feet.

"I see. Well Sasuke-tousan what do you suggest we start cleaning first?" Pealing his eyes away from the direction his daughter had gone, he ignored Kakashi's taunt and instead looked at the open door of the manor. To a normal person the amount of work that was in contained in the house would have taken a matter of days, even with help. But both men were shinobi's who contained knowledgeable of more than a thousand techniques, so why wouldn't it be reasonable to use their knowledge in such a situation.

"The floor; with clones and water jutsu's." Kakashi smiled under his mask at Sasuke's response. Maybe those three years away from Konoha had done some good to Sasuke. The Sasuke that stood in front of him was different, and Kakashi had to admit he did enjoy the spark of life shining in Sasuke's eyes.

♪Sairen♪

"LET ME GO!" The bellows leaving the small mouth made Naruto wishing he had invested into those earmuffs all those years ago. Better yet he wished he had left the girl with her loving Sasuke-tousan, at least then the migraine forming would not have appeared, nor would any of the stares quickly being accumulated as he walked down the street. Who knew the girl had such a set of lungs on her.

"Ren if you can it, I'll treat ya to some yummy food." Naruto smirked as the moon colored hair girl went quiet. Of course food would be the only thing to calm her down; Iruka had used the same method to make him behave when he was a child.

Smiling widely to the villagers who were eyeing him as if he had stolen something, Naruto hurried his pace, as eager to see Iruka as he was to get away from the eyes.

"Naruto-niichan!" Three separate voices called his name in unison, forcing Naruto to turn away from his direction and facing the three oncoming pre-teens.

"Konohamaru, Udon, Meogi. Long time no see." Were for the villagers he plastered a fake grin, for the three young shinobi's who looked up to him; he graced them with a sincere one filled with joy.

"We are so glad to see you Naruto-niichan." Meogi smiled at the blonde shyly before turning away, not wanting Naruto to see the blush on her cheeks. In the last few years, Naruto had changed in her eyes, and she started to regret ever agreeing with Konohamaru to called Naruto niichan. Beneath the loose orange shirt, Meogi knew muscles lay underneath. Muscles sculpted from years of training and rigorous exercises.

"Where are you off to niichan?" Konohamaru pried, eyeing the shinobi he had chosen to be his idol.

"Just to see Iruka and to treat my little friend here to the best ramen in the world." At the mention of Ren, Naruto pulled her off his shoulder. Planting her on the ground, he hoped they were far enough away that she wouldn't try to run and get lost, just to escape him.

Ren faced the trio of teens slightly towering over her. Snot was dripping from one of the teen's nose, while the female member looked at her as if she would soon be pinching Ren's cheeks and squealing about how adorable Ren was. Turning to face the final member of the three, Ren narrowed her eyes at the glare she received.

"She's a midget." Konohamaru stated, looking down at the iceberg-eyed girl. Behind her, Ren could hear Naruto's muffled laugh, ignoring the jinchuuriki Ren opened her mouth.

"At least my face wasn't used as a scratching post."

"The cat is evil!" Konohamaru protested, remembering how the large white cat with the pink bow had escaped his mistress's arms again, and had decided Konohamaru should be punished for returning him to the overly tight grip the women possessed.

"Oh and here I thought your face always looked like that." Ren retorted, pleased he was on the defensive.

"Why you little…" Before Konohamaru could utter another word, the shrill sounding voice of Ebisu reached all three teens. Tensing as if they had just been caught by a group of S-class shinobi's, they inspected their surrounding area, trying to find their sensei.

"Hehe, looks like we got to go Naru-nii. Bye!" Konohamaru stated rubbing the back of his head, a trait he copied from Naruto. With a quick wave from the three genin's, and a poof following the billowing clouds from the smoke bombs, they disappeared.

Knowing whatever the teens tried to do, Ebisu would catch up to them, Naruto's mind wandered away from the three genins and to the ramen patiently waiting for him.

"Well Ren let's go get that ramen I promised." Holding out his hand, Naruto waited for Ren to take it. Turning to face the blonde, Ren raised one of her eyebrows, unsure of what the blonde truly wanted.

"I promise I don't bite." Giving him a warily look, Ren placed her small hand into his larger one. Orochimaru constantly told her the only one, who stood in the way of Sasuke leading a perfect life, happened to be the very blonde who stood before her. A part of her wanted to agree with the Snake; wanting to rip the blonde piece by piece and hearing his agonized screams. Yet for some reason, she wanted to fight against that desire, she wanted to trust this shinobi that made Sasuke smile, and act happier than he had appeared in years. If this blonde created happiness for her father, then she would try to get along with him.

"So where are we going?" Smiling at Ren, Naruto trapped her hand in his; pleased she had started to accept him.

"To Ichiraku's!" Naruto shouted loudly, pointing to a random direction, causing Ren to giggle at the strangeness the blonde appeared to have. At the sound of the giggle, Naruto sent another large smile towards her.

♪Sairen♪

Iruka released an irritated sigh, unsure if he left his house late enough. Three hours ago, he had asked Kakashi to find Naruto and ask him to come to Ichiraku's. Iruka could tell Kakashi had been dieing to see how Sasuke was, and Iruka could not blame him, since he felt the same need. But, while Sasuke was important to Kakashi, Naruto simply was more important to Iruka. The rumors floating around the village were slowly killing Iruka, for he knew how important Sasuke was to Naruto, and hearing that Naruto had arrived at Konoha's gate bloody while carrying an unconscious Sasuke, hardly calmed Iruka's nerves.

Taking his mind off of Naruto's condition and instead of where the blonde was, Iruka looked down the street where he knew the blonde apartment was. Yet there was no sign of the hyper blond. Only villagers walked to and fro in front of the ramen bar.

"I'm going to kill Kakashi if he forgot to tell Naruto, and got distracted…again." Iruka muttered, his cheery expression darkening at the images of how to torture the scarecrow shinobi for twice ruining his time with Naruto.

"Iruka-sensei!" Turning his head in the opposite direction, Iruka took in the running blonde, waving one hand up high in the air, while the other to preoccupied with holding unto the child who looked to be unsure if she really wanted to follow the blonde. Forgetting the fact Naruto was not coming his usual way, Iruka raised his arm back in a greeting.

Only a few seconds passed before a panting blonde stopped in front of Iruka. Before Naruto could even utter another word, Iruka wrapped his arms around the blondes frame in a tight bear hug.

"I-Iru…ka…sensei…I…can't b-breathe…"Naruto squeaked out, his face turning bluer with each second passing. Ripples of laughter came from Naruto's body, dropping the suffocating blonde, Iruka's brown eyes met with iceberg colored eyes. The moment Naruto's body could no longer be used as a shield, the laugher stopped abruptly, fear replacing the happiness so quickly Iruka became uncertain, the joy had even been there.

"Hello there, I'm Umino Iruka." Kneeling down Iruka lowered himself to meet her face to face. Following her instincts Ren took a step back, preparing to run at a moments notice. But the typical feelings of resentment or anger were not sullying the air, in fact the area around the man felt calm and peaceful. A coughing sound resonated from somewhere, but Ren was to at peace to care.

"Iruka-sensei, this is Ren. Ren, Iruka-sensei was Sasuke's, Sakura's and my teacher at the academy." Naruto announced, his face slowly regaining the color it lost during Iruka's 'loving' hug. Naruto had sensed the fear permutated from the child the moment Iruka dropped him, yet now Ren, she seemed calm. Naruto smiled, Iruka had the ability to any one feel at peace, which could never be said about Kakashi.

"Was Sasuke-tousan a bad student?" Ren asked, her grin reappearing, and her eyes filing with curiosity.

"No, the only bad student I had was Naruto." Iruka replied to the girl, laughing.

"Hey I kept the class awake during those boring lectures!" Naruto protested, receiving a hard glare from Iruka for bad-mouthing his lectures, while at the same time Ren sprouted into a fit of laughter, not having a second to evade, Iruka swung down his palm, smacking the back of Naruto's head. Naturally, resulting in more laughter to be brought past Ren's lips.

"Stop fooling around Naruto. Unless, that is, you don't want any ramen?" The pout that had appeared from the strike, left instantly, replaced by drool dripping from the corners of his mouth.

Grabbing a hold of Ren's and Iruka's arm, Naruto bound forward, past the red cloth entrance to the ramen bar, yelling loudly.

"Hey old man!"

♪Sairen♪

"Sasuke?" Sasuke could hear the voice, but his eyes simply to stubborn to open. Grunting a response instead, he waited for a continuation, but nothing came. Finally opening his eyes, the first sight, to meet his eyes, ended up being water sprouting from ever corner of his house.

"Looks bad." Sasuke muttered, Kakashi nodding his head in agreement from his place above the tree Sasuke lay under.

"Let the clones handle it." Sasuke mumbled, his voice growing husky with sleep. His ebony eyes watched more of the water pour out through the second story window, acting like a small waterfall. Shrugging his shoulder, Sasuke simply turned his back to the house, and promptly drifted back to sleep.

Agreeing with Sasuke once more, Kakashi simply brought his book up again; making sure it completely blocked his vision. He wasn't really in the mood to watch the destruction of the Uchiha manor.

♪Sairen♪

"It's been a while Naruto." Tenchi answered, hearing the blonde stomp his way into the ramen shop. Smiling widely, Naruto threw Iruka toward one seat, before picking up Ren and plucking her unto another one. Once everyone had been seated, Naruto followed. Sitting on his stool, his drool tripling in amount as the ramen smell struck his nose. Laughing at the blonde's antics, Tenchi threw the noodles into the broth.

"I thought that was Naruto-kun I heard." Ayame said, coming out from the back room, her hands wiping themselves on her apron.

"Hello Iruka-sensei." Ayame said, while placing a glass of water in front of each.

"And who is this cutie?" Smiling at Ren, everyone waited for the reply, but when it never came Naruto took over.

"This is Ren, and it is her first time to ever try some ramen." A shy smile graced Ren's face at Naruto's statement.

"Well, then you are in for a treat. Though I must say it might not be on the same level as Naruto proclaims it to be." Tenchi commented, pouring in the vegetables, he finished chopping, into the large pot.

"Dad is just being modest. Naruto eats enough of it to know how amazing it is." Ayame laughed, her brown eyes twinkling. Pulling out three white bowls, they sat on the counter waiting for their purpose. A few minutes passed before the old man poured the noodles and broth into the bowls, and placing them in front of the trio.

Mutters of 'Itadaki-masu' and the snapping sound of chopsticks resonated in the air. Ren glanced to Iruka who calmly ate the ramen, a simple smile set on his lips, to Naruto shoveling down the ramen like his life depended on it.

Gazing down at the steaming broth, Ren timidly took the chopsticks into her hands, pulling them apart with a snap. Looking up, Ayame and the old man watched, eagerly waiting for her first taste and response that would follow. With a similar mutter of 'itadaki-masu' the chopsticks were shoved into the bowl, and brought up in a single swoop. Noodles clung to rods, as if it their savior. But unfortunately for the noodles, they were heading for another place instead of heaven.

Pausing in his usual rapid consumption of ramen, Naruto moved his eyes to glance over at Ren, the smile across her face growing wider with each second. With a swallow, Ren's chopsticks flew up, shoving ramen in her petite mouth, in a speed that could match Naruto's.

"Looks like we have another Naruto on our hands." Tenchi proclaimed, throwing more noodles into the broth preparing more for the two.

"_Houkou would have a fit if he knew what you were thinking."_ Kyuubi laughed, commenting on Naruto's thoughts of how cute Ren looked while attacking the ramen._ "Kit, remember… eventually Houkou will use the girl to get to us._" Ignoring the concern laced in the kitsune's voice, Naruto resumed eating his ramen, never noticing the look of concern Iruka shot at him.

♪Sairen♪

Ren watched Naruto finish his third bowl of ramen before starting out on the fourth one, placed in front of him a few seconds prior.

"Iruwa-senzei, shy bib zuo zend Kakazhi?" Naruto tried to asked, the question becoming lost as noodles spilled out of his mouth.

"Naruto don't talk with your mouth full." Iruka chided, his cheeks tinted in a low shade of red. Just because the blonde had been speaking with his mouth full, didn't mean Iruka hadn't understood him. After all Iruka had spent over ten years with the blonde. It simply meant that the question Naruto asked, Iruka had not intention of answering. Not now, not ever.

Picking up the bowl, the broth of Ren's second bowl slid down her throat with ease. But the sudden appearance of the sullen look on Naruto's face had Ren giggling through the broth, spewing what hadn't gone down unto the table.

"I don't think I can eat anymore Iruka-sensei." Ren stated, wiping away the broth that stayed on her lips. Ren figured if the stupid blonde could call the man sensei, she could too; after all he was currently treating to the delicious noodles. Releasing a yawn, her eyelids became droopy over her iceberg eyes, and the warmth of the ramen coursing through her slowly making her sleepy.

"I was able to eat triple what you just ate when I was eight." Naruto taunted, this time with his mouth empty, but the chopsticks holding the ramen only a breath away.

Never one to back down from a challenge, her sleepiness disappeared, replaced by eagerness. Ren opened her mouth to place another order before being stopped by a few waving bills.

"There's a candy shop across the street. They have the best kind of candies there, even Kunai gummies. Why don't you go get some?" Iruka said a sincere smile on his lips. Looking from Naruto to the bills, Ren felt torn, but in the end it was an easy choice.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei." Grabbing the bills, Ren spun around on her stool, jumping off when she faced the streets, and ran straight ahead to the store Iruka had mentioned.

"So about Kakashi…" Naruto started, before being interrupted by his old teacher.

"Tsunade-sama said you were guarding Sasuke, and I know that you've wanted Sasuke back since he left, but…well there a lot of people who are worried."

"Iruka-sensei." Naruto murmured, dropping his chopsticks into the semi-full ramen bowl, his stomach suddenly feeling completely full.

Ayame noticing the unease between the pair, pushed her father out of the room out of respect.

"You guys have nothing to worry about. I'm fine, Kyuubi is fine. But that's not what you are really worried about is it?" Naruto questioned. Iruka was one of the few who knew about the stronger connection he had developed with the demon. But Naruto knew, this time Iruka wasn't concerned about the demon, but the man who held the beast.

"Naruto you act so strong, but you're still so young. I know this sounds like I'm just babbling, but I don't believe you ever truly grew up. You've matured, and you can fight like no other, but you emotions…they still control you. The idea that Sasuke will always be the same Sasuke you tried to beat when you were younger is…Well, I don't think you ever broke away from that. If you had too, would you kill him?" Silence was Iruka's only response.

"It sounded better when I was practicing." Iruka mumbled, laughing weakly, upset that he hadn't truly gotten his point across. 'Stupid Kakashi, distracting me when I tried to practice' A deep fire burned in Iruka's eyes, thinking of the millions and one of ways he could torture the silver-haired shinobi.

The sudden laughter surging from Naruto's lips refocused Iruka's mind on the blonde in front of him.

"No, Iruka-sensei. I understand. But I don't want you to worry so much. You're the closest thing I've had to a father and I know if I need to, I can always come to you. And if the old hag says I have to…I think…no I would be able to." Naruto's eyes strayed away from their spot on the ramen bowl, and tried to focus anywhere else. Iruka smiled softly, worry still etched in his face. Lifting up his hand, he placed it on the blonde locks before ruffling them.

"AHH!" At the sudden scream, both Naruto and Iruka leapt out of their stool, sprinting out of Ichiraku's.

"Ren." Iruka stated in realization. A large crowd had already gathered in front of the small candy shop, all trying to see what had gathered everyone's attention. Naruto pushed his way past the people in the crowd, not only fearing something had happened to Ren, but what Sasuke would do if something actually had happened to his daughter. Pushing his head between two tightly pressed bodies, his blue eyes found the source of the scream and the point of attraction.

Ren stood near the door, a small bag of gummies clutched tightly in her hands, her eyes wide in fear at the pair of elder woman, one who currently was pinching her cheeks.

"Oh my, you are the cutest little thing, aren't you." One of the grayed hair women spoke, making cooing noises to Ren. The woman's friend beside her giggled, her hands itching to pull Ren's cheeks.

Seeing Ren safe in the hands of the old women, Naruto let go of the breath he unintentionally had been holding in. As the villagers realized nothing of importance was occurring, the crowd started to disperse, allowing Naruto to make his way completely through. However, Naruto didn't noticing as he approached the older two women and Ren, the crowd started to gather again. This times their eyes on the jinchuuriki.

"Ren?" Ren looked up at the sound of her name. Seeing Naruto standing in front of her was barely a relief, but he was definitely better than these two hags who, Ren swore were trying to pinch her to death.

"Naruto." Breaking away from the two women, Ren sprang for the blonde's body. Weave around; Ren clasped the back of his jacket, fearing the ladies would still try to attack her cheeks.

"I'm sorry ladies, Ren needs to go back home." Naruto said, smiling at the two. Turning around, he kept Ren in front of him as he made his way back to Iruka.

"Why would she want to return with a demon." The vile words seemed like a kunai had hit him in the back. While almost all the villagers treated Naruto with respect and no longer cared about his presence or the fact he carried the nine-tailed kitsune, there were still some older villagers who couldn't see the different between the kitsune, and Naruto himself.

Ren turned her eyes to Naruto's face as the words wrapped themselves around the pair. His lips were in a tight thin line, and the usual brightness in his eyes dulled.

"I don't believe Uchiha-sama would appreciate the poor girl being tainted by the likes of a demon. Don't you agree Aya?" One of the women muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. The other woman agreed with a nod of her head. Growling, Ren stepped away from Naruto, and faced the two women. Her iceberg eyes cold enough that surely if Ren tried hard enough they would both turn into chunks of ice.

"Don't talk about my Sasuke-tousan as if you know him you ugly bitches. Naruto has more of his respect and mine then you two will ever have, combined. Naruto is not a demon!" Ren yelled, knowing her words held only some truth, but only she was allowed to torture the blonde, no one else.

"You're young, you do not know of what you speak." Aya said, her eyes narrowing at Ren clearing not taking Ren's words seriously.

"_Let me out. We can rip them to pieces like the others. We can KILL Kyuubi. We can rip everyone to pieces. Think of the blood. The blood…just let me OUT!"_ The voice ripped through her head, and as tempting as the idea sounded Ren knew she couldn't.

"I know more then you two bitches seem to. And if you don't want to be ripped to pieces by a true demon. You. Will. Leave. Now!" Ren growled out. The two women widened their eyes at the threat, but not taking any chances they rushed through the crowd, faster than a normal haggard women could run.

Turning back to the waiting blonde, who had stayed at the same spot since the moment she had decided to protect him, a smile was on his face. Eyes filled with surprise met her form; everyone in the crowd was looking at her, all with large smiles on their faces, just like Naruto's.

Ren tensed, not use to this much attention, nor the smiling faces mentally cheering for her actions against the old two women. Laughter broke Ren's unease, and Naruto ruffled the moon-colored locks, mussing her hair, just like Iruka had done to him minutes ago.

"I didn't know you cared so much for me Ren." Naruto teased, Ren shooting a hard glare in his direction. "But let's not tell Sasuke about your word choice…" Naruto said, in an after thought. He really didn't want to be blamed for Ren's recent vocabulary.

"I don't." Ren muttered, to Naruto's previous statement, turning her head away, a pout gracing her lips.

"If I didn't believe Ren was Sasuke's child, I do now. That pout of hers makes her look exactly like him when he just stared the Academy." Iruka laughed, walking towards the pair, the crowd already gone, pleased to see the women put in their place. Naruto glanced at the inu-jinchuuriki, seeing the truth.

"She does, doesn't she?" Naruto commented, laughing. Ren narrowed her eyes, copying Sasuke infamous glare.

"Anyway Iruka-sensei, I really should get this little fighter back." Iruka opened his mouth, but the large spread smile on Naruto's lips stopped him.

"Of course. Bye Naruto, Ren." Iruka said, as the pair waved goodbye. 'Naruto still believes he is alone. He can't see that he is surrounded by people who want to protect him. And Ren may just become another one of those.' Iruka thought, watching the pair heading towards the Uchiha manor.

Ren walked a bit a head of Naruto, jumping across small puddles of water left by the rain. When she finally reached a puddle much larger then she previously been jumping, she stopped. While the puddle was impossible for _her_ to jump over didn't mean it couldn't have another use. Smiling wickedly, Ren backed up a few inches, sticking out her left leg, and opening her mouth.

"Hey Naruto, come look at this!" Not paying to much attention, Naruto walked over to Ren, the leg ready to trip him, going unnoticed until it was too late.

The same feeling as free-falling from a tree took over him. Yet it ended all too soon as his face hit the clear waters of the puddle, turning them murky within seconds. Ren's laughter rang through the streets.

Glancing back, Iruka chuckled at the view of his ex-student standing up, his front caked with mud, his blonde hair looking brown.

"I'm going to kill you Ren!" Naruto shouted, reaching for the girl. Skirting her way from the blonde's reach, Ren ran ahead, laughing as she sprinted away from the blonde.

"Those two will never get bored of each other." Iruka told to no one in particular, heading back into the ramen bar to pay for the meal, and to think of the many ways he could torture a particular silver haired, gray and red eyed shinobi, who most definitely would be sleeping on the couch tonight.

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A/N: So that is the story…please REVIEW!!! They make me feel all nice and warm, and trust me I need the warmth, my place is freezing even with the heater on . and for your enjoyment I will present two loving convs. I had with my editor and this French prodigy.

Prodigy: He's the ministry of French Drug Trips

Ebony: (whispering to me)What's the difference between regular drug trips then?

Pheme: The French do it better. (shrugging)

And….

Ebony: Why is it called French Kissing?

Pheme: Cause the French invented it.

Ebony: I can't imagine stuffy people like them do something like that.

Haha I do love my French class, and no Ebony wanted me to say she does love all French people, but we just get so bored sometimes in French we talk about the random and stupidest things…ehh I'll live….

Only if I get reviews though Thanks!


	8. The Rain Will Hide Your Tears

Pheme- Happy Valentine Day Everyone!!! Here is the next chapter hope you like, this chapter is kind of like a filler, but it shows you a bit more or Ren's personality as well as Sasuke and Naruto's faults. OOOh I don't want to spoil it so I'll stop talking. Well I hope you all got some sort of treat today, if not here is my gift with all my love attached. Oh and thanks to:

Anonfood: for catching the mistake

Cheshire666: for the heads up! Sadly the trip was canceled but because it was I now get to go to BrazilYAY!

And to all the lovely reviewers who commented about the story I love reading your thoughts.

"Blah" – Talking

'Blah'- Thinking

'_Blah'_- Kyuubi or Houkou talking

♪Sairen♪- scene change

♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback

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Chapter VIII: The Rain Will Hide Your Tears

Ebony eyes watched the leaves create their own dance, the wind their only support. The feelings of relaxation were too foreign for his mind to comprehend. Sasuke eyes followed the simple movements of the leaves, their simplicity calming him. He certainly could give this village points, for in some manner no matter what he did, somehow he was always at the point of exhaustion. The ex-Konoha shinobi had trouble remembering a time in the last few years where he been expired in both body and in soul.

But today wasn't any other regular day.

Taking a deep breathe in, Sasuke closed his eyes again, this time hoping for the relief labeled sleep. In reality, the once respected dark-haired shinobi had done absolutely nothing today, a rarity if anything. Yet his body begged with every fiber of its being to be able to sleep. The old mansion represented everything he strived to forget, the memories that haunted too many of his dreams and the single promise created that day.

Yet things change.

Opening his eyes, Sasuke resumed his gaze on the dancing leaves, particularly watching a single leaf struggle to escape the confines of its branch and finally elope with the teasing wind. Unlike the struggling leaf, he had escaped and fled to the deepest and darkest parts of the world where no one could ever find him.

Or so he thought.

Or so he wished.

Yet maybe deep inside he wanted to be found, and the girl with the moon-colored hair and eyes like icebergs, filled to the brim with warmth, did just that. She found him, and others followed. In his darkest lair hands had captured his body and promptly placed him back onto the tree, knowing Sasuke wouldn't be able to survive, but the hands and the girl prayed, believed and...

'And I'm thinking too much about this fucking leaf.' Sasuke thought to himself, wondering if he could burn away the irritating leaf and not kill Kakashi or burn down the tree. 'Sacrifices have to be made.' Lifting his hands from behind his hands, he brought them to his chest, his chakra already preparing for a technique his body knew all to well.

"SASUKE-TOUSAN!" The shrieking of his name brought all desires of burning the whole tree down and Kakashi with it to a halt. Swiftly turning his head, eyes scanned the few viewable parts of the road between the overgrown hedges.

The glimpse Sasuke caught of Ren was enough to tell him she was all right physically. But as she jumped over an overgrown shrub, Sasuke could only presume years ago had been a rose bush, he realized her shout hadn't been one out of fear, but one desiring the protection of her father.

♪Sairen♪

Ren ran across the lawn as fast as her little legs could carry her, yet her hunter was not far behind. While the first, what she would forever claim to be an 'accidental', trip had only made Naruto punish her by making her carrying home the shopping bags from the food market, Ren could admit she may have gone a bit too far with: making a tree branch fall on him on the path, snakes down his shirt and pushing him into a river when he blocked her view of a deer.

And, while she could admit it, didn't necessarily mean that she would. After all it wasn't entirely her fault that the tree branch just happened to break under the pressure of her leap. Naruto didn't need to be standing right below it. Nor was it her fault, that the branch she swung down from to see if he was all right just happened to be filled with pissed off snakes. And just because he had received a few nibbles from the snakes, did not mean he had any right to block her view of the cute deer.

"Sasuke-tousan save me!" Lifting her arms as high as she could without being dragged by the weight of the bags, Ren put all her energy in trying to make the last few steps. Maybe she had annoyed Kami sometime in her past-life or maybe Naruto simply happened to be better than he appeared, either way before being able to use her father's body as a shield, a tanned hand grabbed the neck of her kimono and brought her up into the air, and straight into the sight of one pissed of jinchuuriki.

♪Sairen♪

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the girl, her wide smile and kind eyes hardly affecting him. Sasuke pushed himself up from the ground, watching the two to see when one would break. The innocence Ren reflected on her face contrasted nicely with the sour expression on Naruto's face. His blonde hair caked with mud, making it appear brown-like rather than blonde, puffy red snakebites graced his neck and arms, and his clothes were shredded. The blonde in fact seemed like a terrible monster who had nicely succeeded in capturing his prey. But with one look past the faces, one could tell Naruto meant no real harm, and Ren was rather pleased with the blonds overall look after her so called 'accidents'.

"Naruto." The instant Naruto turned his eyes away from Ren to look at the man calling his name, in such a manner that chills coursed down his back and blood started to pump faster into one particular organ, Ren found her chance to escape.

With her hands already free from dropping, the bags during her captured, Ren nimble fingers furiously untangled the sash. Lifting her arms, Ren easily slip out of the borrowed kimono, landing on the ground in a graceful plop. Like any good kunoichi-in-training, her chest was bound in white cloth, contrasting with her legs tightly packed into black spandex.

Not letting a second be wasted of Naruto's distracted state; Ren pushed her legs forward, moving rapidly towards the backdoor of the mansion. As realization of his escaping prey bore in, Naruto twisted his body wanting to follow Ren and would have too, if a gloved hand on his chest hadn't stopped him.

"Naruto, you can't go in to the house we spent hours cleaning all muddy. You'll ruin our work." Kakashi explained evenly, believing his words to be true. Even if only his clones had actually been the ones to clean the house, Naruto didn't know that.

Looking past the silver haired jounin, Naruto eyed the mansion, little trickles of water leaking from beneath the tightly closed windows. Raising his eyebrow, Naruto suddenly became frightened of what to expect when he entered the mansion.

"Really Kakashi-sensei did you dry too?" Kakashi stared at the blonde, the silence enough of an answer for the jinchuuriki. Stomping his way towards the back door, he could hear the slow steps of Sasuke and Kakashi, each step becoming slower at the approaching door, as if they didn't know what to expect when they entered, nor wanting too.

Jumping unto the wooden planks making up the patio, he crossed the few feet separating the garden from the door, throwing open the door once reaching it. For a second Naruto thought, he simply had succumbed to whatever poison the blasted snakes injected into his system. Slowly as reality settled in, Naruto's eyes accepting the view, widening at the ruins of what remained of the house.

"What the fuck did you do?!" Naruto shouted, unable to believe all of this mess had ensued in a matter of a few hours.

"We cleaned," Kakashi, answered serenely, casting one eye over the back part of the house. In truth, he expected a much larger mess with everything he had seen from the outside, but Kakashi was a hundred percent certain that Naruto did not want to hear that.

"How, with a Water Jutsu?!" Naruto asked, not entirely serious, but still curious as to how the floor seemed to be flooded with around less than an inch of water at the shallowest point, and how even the ceiling was dripping water unto his head, as if it were rain and there was no roof to cover the Uchiha mansion.

"Yes." A straightforward answer was not what Naruto expected to hear, turning his head towards Sasuke, who simply watched the blonde as if he had done nothing wrong. Noticing the growing anger in the blonde, Kakashi came up with an idea that he would have patted himself in the back for if it wouldn't have looked odd.

"Well I think we should go and start dinner Sasuke, we wouldn't want for Naruto and Ren-chan to starve to death." Kakashi stated in a happy tone, his wide grin hidden beneath his mask, obviously forgetting the pair had already eaten with Iruka. Grabbing Sasuke shoulder, he veered the ex-Konoha shinobi away from the wrath soon to explode.

Watching the pair head towards what Naruto could only assume was the kitchen, he still felt the need to yell about their stupidity. Mixed in with the anger the blonde felt traces of astonishment run through his veins. He never would have believed Sasuke could be capable of making even the tiniest mistake. Yet here now the dark haired shinobi finally revealed his weakness, proving the perfect Sasuke everyone thought him to be, was nothing but an illusion.

In swift movements of his hands, Naruto preformed all the signs he needed to summon his clones. Following the last sign, a puff of smoke billowed around Naruto. Swept away as fast as the smoke had appeared, four clones were revealed, ready and waiting for Naruto's orders.

From her position, on the stairs Ren could hear Naruto's mumbling about lazy shinobi reading porn and broody men who thought they were obviously too good to do simple cleaning. Drowning out the blondes rant, Ren took in the second floor. Water dripped from every nook and cranny, just as it had done downstairs. Old pictures hung by the skin of their teeth to the walls.

She had been foolish to believe Sasuke could be capable of actually cleaning the house. Ren had been the only one to really see the amount of layers the house possessed, and even to her the idea of cleaning such a massive house seem incomprehensible. If anything, her father was lucky that the house wasn't made from paper doors and tatami mats, for the cleaning style the two had used would have easily destroyed the house beyond repair.

Opening the door of the closest room, she walked carefully, trying not to slip on the lake covering the wooden floor. Surveying the room, iceberg eyes caught sight of the perfect cleaning instrument. For a second she considered finding at least a shirt to wear while she cleaned, but dismissed the idea since she didn't want to dirty it while cleaning. Instead, she reached into her weapons holster, glad that Sakura had attached it before she left the hospital, and pulled out a black cord, which with quick hands soon kept her hair out of her face.

Sliding to the bed, Ren stripped it of its sheets, throwing all the dust she could into the air. Little holes were scattered throughout the surface of the blanket, most likely due to hungry moths that lived her for the period of Sasuke's disappearance. Caring less about the state of the blanket, Ren quickly bundled it up, as tightly as possible, before following Naruto's decision and cleaning up the room.

♪Sairen♪

Ren stretched her arms as far as possible, a cracking sound resonating through the hall, before she stopped. Pacing a small hand over her mouth, she covered a yawn, her body tired after the amount of cleaning she just finished. She had had no idea cleaning five bedrooms and three bathrooms would have been so bad, but each of the rooms were so huge, Ren became positive that one would try to swallow her.

Padding down the stairs, she looked around the rooms pleased with the sight of cleanliness instead of dirtiness that old house one possessed. She was impressed with Naruto's way of cleaning; from her position in the stairs, Ren could tell he had not missed one spot.

Moving away from the stairs, Ren spied Naruto around the corner of Sasuke's house slowly making his way around the living room. Ignoring him, Ren continued walking around the large house until she heard the murmurs of the one-eyed man and her father. Following the noises the pair made, she came to the kitchen door, her eyes widening with fear. Ren knew Sasuke was incapable of preparing even a simple sandwich without burning it to a crisp somehow, thought he never revealed why or how. Ren's fear of Sasuke's cooking, which he performed whenever the cook for Orochimaru's lair took days off, forced Ren to learn how to cook as fast as she could.

Besides her fear, there was another purpose to Ren's desperate need to be able to cook, and that involved her father. The basic fear of Sasuke's cooking, was just that, a basic fear, but deep inside Ren's heart she truly feared that one day Sasuke would become so troubled by her, and her inability to take care of herself that he would just leave her, forever. The fear of being left alone soon became a constant theme in her nightmares.

Gathering up her courage, Ren opened the door, prying into the room that seemed surprisingly clean.

"Watcha doing Sasuke-tousan?" At the sound of her innocent, voice both men turned, surprise written on their faces, even if it was trying to be suppressed. In fact the two men looked just like children who just been caught trying to steal cookies before supper. As if they had read each other's mind, both older men immediately moved to cover their attempt. Yet Ren had seen it even before she had spoken. The large pot boiled angrily, with carrot sticks, un-skinned potatoes and celery, all sticking out of it. If anything had been cooked, it would have simply been the bottom of the vegetables.

"Sasuke-tousan you promised you would never cook again!" Ren complained, her eyes tearing up more from the foul odor the pot emancipated, then actually being upset. Kakashi sent a smirking smile to Sasuke, finding it hilariously funny that an eight-year-old girl would be reprimanding one of the strongest shinobi Konoha once had to offer, not to mention the heir of the Uchiha's.

"And you, mister scarecrow man, why did you let him?" Ren asked Kakashi, her glare now focused on him. Scratching his check with one finger, Kakashi tried to remember how they had come to this point.

'Told Naruto we would cook…I can't cook…Sasuke can't cook…we just placed whatever shit we could find into the pot and watched the water boil.' Pleased with his deductive skills, he opened his mouth to respond to Ren's question, but the glare Ren obviously learned from Sasuke stopped him. Looking to Sasuke, a similar smirk was pasted on the Uchiha's features, and the look in the dark eyes seemed to be bragging about victory and screaming 'Told you so's.

"Seems this is my cue to leave." With a wave and a wink, Kakashi teleported away, leaving only in his place a large puff of smoke.

Ignoring the disappearance of the shinobi, Ren left the kitchen, coming back only a few seconds later dragging a chair from the dining room. Plunking the chair beside the boiling pot, she sprang unto the counter. Taking a dishcloth, she grabbed the handles of the pot, and slowly walked to the sink, being extra careful not to let the pot touch her skin. Coming to the sink, Ren dumped the boiling water and vegetables, watching the steam rise rapidly when it encountered the cool sink.

"The Uchiha symbol suites you Ren." Shocked iceberg eyes met ebony ones at the compliment. The shirt she had found in the final room she cleaned acted like a dress on her body and she chosen it for the simple fact that it was clothing. But, realizing she wore the crest of the Uchiha clan between her petit shoulders, somehow made Ren feel closer to Sasuke. The simple compliment….his approval….made her almost feel like his real daughter.

"Thank you." Ren finally said, her mind still hazing with the idea that Sasuke might think of her as his real daughter, instead of a child he'd been forced to take care of. Noticing the solemn look lacing Ren's visage, he did something Itachi would have called as weak, and probably making several of the Uchiha roll around in their graves.

The touch of warm lips on her forehead surprised Ren, and seconds later, the feeling was gone, but Ren swore she could still feel his symbol of love on her forehead. Patting the top of her head, and sending a small smile, to her expression, Sasuke pivoted away, walking out of the kitchen.

Letting go of one of the handles, of the already cooled pot, she brought her hand to her forehead, her fingertips hovering over the spot he kissed. A broad smile spread across her cheeks, until she remembered the mess she had to fix.

Looking at the semi-cooked food, Ren tried to find anything that was remotely salvageable. Whether she should have been thankful, or troubled at the fact that most of the vegetables Kakashi and Sasuke had attempted to use, could still be used, she wasn't entirely sure. But there was one thing she was sure about.

"Guess I'm winging it tonight." Releasing a sigh, Ren placed the pot back unto the stove, before climbing down her chair to find the rest of the ingredients.

♪Sairen♪

Splayed out across the wooden planks of the patio, Naruto tried to remember the last time he had cleaned so much.

Yet nothing could even compare to the Uchiha, both his old apartment and the new one he shared with Sakura were small, and even during his prankster days the largest clean up punishment had been the getting rid of the graffiti on the Hokage Monument, courtesy of himself.

Taking a deep breathe, the blond shinobi stood up, attempting to prepare himself for the upstairs rooms, but the aroma of a familiar dish erased all ideas of continuing his cleaning spree.

Sniffing the air, Naruto followed the aroma to the place he figured Sasuke and Kakashi had disappeared too. One of the two had to be responsible for the heavenly aroma and he planned on finding out which one, but the second blue eyes peered into the room, he was surprised to see neither Kakashi nor Sasuke, but instead Ren, preparing the meal he had been drooling over.

Naruto watched Ren move from one side of the room to the other, either by walking across the counter, or moving the chair from one place to the other. But at the moment her silly dance was not the center of his attention, the crest on the back of her shirt was.

The Uchiha fan. The fan he had seen for most of his life. The same fan that he had ran after for the last few years, always dieing to catch another glimpse of it, even for just a nanosecond.

And now, after all those years, the fan danced across the kitchen across the small shoulder of a demon child, like himself, with no knowledge about the genocide that had occurred involving the very same people who had worn the symbol barely ten years ago.

"The food isn't ready yet." Ren simply said, not even turning around to look Naruto in the eye. With his cover blown, Naruto entered the kitchen, finally taken in a huge whiff of whatever the young girl was cooking.

"It smells good Ren." At the compliment, Ren turned around trying to hide her shocked expression. No one had ever told her that, the cook at Orochimaru's said it wouldn't kill anyone, and everyone ate it without complaint. Even Orochimaru had eaten her cooking, up till the point where she had laced laxatives into his meal, that is.

"Thank you Naruto-san." Saying the blondes name sounded odd in her ears, but she ignored the feelings as she stepped off her chair, moving it to the side where the pot steadily boiled its water. Blue eyes looked to where Ren had been seconds before. Somehow, Ren had found a cutting board, and while most of the vegetables had been cut, there still remained a few to finish.

"I can cut these for you." Turning her head to see what Naruto referred to, Ren gave nod, the only sign Naruto needed before a knife was in his hand, and the sound of chopping filled the room.

Watching out of the corner of her eye, Ren felt a sense of uneasiness. Maybe it came from the fact that she knew this safety and freedom wouldn't last forever, or maybe it came from the fact that she slowly was starting to look to others to depend on, besides her father. Months ago, she would have laughed at the idea, but in a matter of a few days, Ren had changed from a girl who tried to be as independent as possible, to one who was starting to need people. But it wasn't possible for her to change… was it?

Tossing a few specks of pepper into the broth, Ren jumped down from her chair, ready and able to forget her confusing feelings and take over Naruto's job. She didn't need anyone to help her. She was the daughter of Sasuke Uchiha, and even related only by name, Uchiha's never required any type of assistance.

"These in here, right?" Looking up, the tall figure stood at her side, one hand holding the cutting board with sliced up carrots and onions. With another nod, iceberg eyes watched the slices slowly fall into the boiling broth.

"Why are you so different?" The sudden question perplexed Naruto, forcing him to take a few small steps backwards to fully take in the petite child who had just asked such a serious question.

The pitter-patter sound of rain hitting the kitchen window, allowed him to stall a few moments. Blue eyes turned to the window, the new rainfall starting unexpectedly, each raindrop slowly make its decent from the darkened heaven to the dehydrated earth, slowly up each drop as if its life depended on it.

"Different how?" The question he wanted to have so much power behind it ended up coming out in a nervous tone. Ren stayed silent for a moment, her iceberg eyes gazing at the same drops of rain as the man beside her.

"You seem like a person who would do anything if asked. You…you aren't selfish. Why?" Naruto though about her words for a moment, trying to think of a time that would easily prove Ren wrong. The more he thought about it the more he was convinced she was wrong. He was selfish. In fact, he probably was the most selfish person in the village. He had used Sakura's promise that he would bring back Sasuke, so that he could have his friend back. Naruto hadn't really cared all those years ago what Sasuke's goal had been, that day on the waterfall all he had wanted was to bring the dark haired shinobi, the last of the Uchiha home, whether Sasuke liked it or not.

"I am selfish Ren. I'm selfish and weak. I've always wanted to prove myself, to be respected, to be stronger than the rest. If I could become Hokage, it would prove that I wasn't weak, that I wanted to protect the village. But there are days I want to destroy this place, days that I would wish I had left the village a long time ago." Naruto stopped, his voice cracking with anger and regret. He wasn't even sure if Ren would understand, even as smart as she seemed to be.

"Do you still want to become Hokage?" Opening his mouth to give his automatic answer, Naruto forced himself to stay silent, unsure of the answer to the question he had answered millions of times.

"What was your mother like Ren?" The question had been to divert the attention on his lack of answer, but as seconds passed by Naruto's curiosity grew. Shifting her eyes for the windowpane to the boiling pot, Ren brought back the memories of her mother; the ones stored away deep in her mind.

"She…she was beautiful. She always had to look her best, but she never could walk a few feet before somehow tripping. She laughed a lot, and she was always singing something. Every single night she would sing me to sleep. I didn't know about the experiment till we were taken away from the house and thrown into a cell. My friends were all dead by then. But my mother, no matter what, stayed braved and she even sacrificed herself so that I could live." Her voice spiked with the few words, tears blurring up her vision. Using the back of her hands Ren tried to hide the tears, but her attempt was ineffective as the tears finally streaked down her cheeks.

Looking around for any type of cloth, Naruto found one on the counter next to him. Pressing it to Ren's hands, he waited patiently, debating whether or not he should stroke her head or pat her back…or something! Even after years of dealing with crying women, he still felt weak around their tears. Seeing the pain laced in with every teardrop had Naruto wishing Orochimaru would make his appearance right at this moment so he could kill the lunatic.

Once Ren could control her tears, iceberg eyes returned to the windowpane, the streaking rain a copy of what had occurred on her face moments ago.

"Wanna know something?" Curious blue eyes observed the young shinobi in front of him, glad that for the moment she was happy, even if her voice sounded strained.

"Hmmm" Taking his Sasuke-like response as a yes, Ren tried to word the saying correctly, not wanting to mess up such an important piece.

"I always remember my mother saying one thing, 'when it rains a change is coming. Whether it is good or bad, it's a change and you have to accept it.' She was right, you know. On the day I was born and the day Sasuke-tousan took me in as his daughter, the sky poured. Both of those days are my happiest memories." A smile graced Ren's once sorrow filled expression, and Naruto couldn't help but smile with her.

Standing behind the wall, Sasuke stayed silent, unsure of how to respond to such a declaration. This was worse than anytime when a village or shinobi girl would approach him, eagerly confessing their hearts expecting him to reciprocate immediately. But Ren wasn't just another one of those annoying girls, she was his daughter.

"So what does your dad look like with out clothes on?" The question that Sasuke knew only Naruto would ask, in doing so also ruining an important moment between the last of the Uchiha's and his daughter, had Sasuke crashing into the kitchen his face beet red.

"Why in the fuck would you ask that?" Blue eyes stayed wide open, shocked at the abrupt appearance of the dark haired man. With all his heart, Naruto tried not to laugh, but the response to the question had been much better than what he had accepted. 'And who said the King of Pranks was dead?'

"You're really acting out of character, you okay teme?" The fake concern easily seen through, with the blonde's teasing tone and tense lips, trying to keep in as much of the laughter as possible. Naruto tried to look as serious as possible, but his attempt easily defeated because of his bug-eyed expression, and puffed out cheeks that easily told the story of his defiance to laughter. The blonde had even dared to use a term he had only heard a few times in the last few days, and even though Sasuke would never admit it, he had yearned for this connection between their insulting names for months.

Ren looked from one shinobi to the other; unsure to what was happening around her. 'Maybe it's that male rutting thing Akamaru told me about.' Cocking her head, Ren thought about it, before unconsciously adding oil to an already boiling flame.

"He's naked." With her answer given, she turned away from the shocked looks and reclaimed her chair. Lifting a spoon, she poured a small amount of the soup into the tasting dish.

Peals of laughter sprang from the blonde's mouth. Naruto gripped the counter as tight as he could, trying to keep himself upright, even with even if his uncontrollable laughter hardly helping the situation. Sasuke, not finding the particular situation funny, continued on the path of turning his face as red as a tomato, maybe even a strawberry. Whether his new condition was from anger or embarrassment all he knew was that he would somehow have to kill the blonde.

"Dobe."

The single word paused Naruto's laughter, opening his blue eyes laced with tears, he stared at the dark haired shinobi in front of him, and not even the infamous Sasuke glare could stop Naruto's laughter from returning, as seconds later the giggles were once more pouring out from the jinchuuriki lips.

"Dinner is ready Sasuke-tousan." Ren announced, trying to be heard over Naruto's roaring laughter. As if the off switch had been pressed, the laughter instantly stopped at the mention of food, and ravenous hunger kicked in.

"It's soup." Naruto commented, surprised a winter meal had been made during the summer.

"Soup is a nice treat on a rainy day, and if you are going to complain you can't have any." Ren proclaimed lowering herself and the pot to the ground before waddling to what she presumed was the dining room.

'I wonder if she will be able to reach it?' Naruto wondered. If the kitchen counter had caused some difficulties for Ren, Naruto knew, from cleaning the dining room, that she would have the same amount of problems with the table. The moment Ren called out to her father, Naruto knew she had discovered her obstacle.

♪Sairen♪

Naruto lay in his new bed in such an unfamiliar room that the Sandman refused to come any where near him. To say he been happy when Ren proclaimed the upstairs clean was an understatement. He had worried so much about when he would have the time to clean it before the would all go to bed, that he had wanted to hug Ren as tight as possible even with her indifferent attitude.

What had been a bigger shock to Naruto came when Sasuke stated he had taken care of placing new linens on all the bed, placing towels in the bathrooms, and placing everything dirty outside so tomorrow they could be cleaned. After the disaster of attempting to clean the old house, Naruto doubted Sasuke could be capable of doing anything in the residence, but like always when dealing with the heir of the Uchiha's, he been wrong.

After the tense dinner, were the conversation stayed stiff, and each answer consisted of a single word, all three separated to their chosen room.

Refusing to step anywhere near his old room, Sasuke made a decision to take over his parents room, after all, _his_ nightmare only came around whenever Itachi stopped by for a visit. With Sasuke's old room abandoned, Ren became the prime candidate for its usage, and closed the door even before a goodnight.

This left Naruto to choose one of the three remaining rooms.

The blonde ended up picking the room closest to Sasuke's bedroom due to his mission to stay as close as possible to the Uchiha before it crossed personal space issues. But deep down, Naruto prayed the room he chose had not once been Itachi's. What Naruto did not know was, thankfully as a child Itachi slept in the room the furthest away from everyone, as newborns always needed to be close to their mothers.

And now, in the strange room painted a creamy light blue completely the opposite of his obnoxious and loud orange room, Naruto kept tossing and turning in his bed. The roaring of thunder warned Naruto of what was soon to come.

He cursed himself for not being able to fall asleep earlier, leaving little chance of avoiding his irrefutable fate. Naruto knew there would be no way to avoid it, the chance of him finding sleep in the next few seconds ran close to zero percent.

The seconds passed by all too soon and finally the lightning flashed casting shadows all over the walls. Naruto sent out a wish to whatever Kami wanted to hear his plea. His plea of wanting this light to stay forever and never leave, but he knew the impossibility. The second the light from the lightning disappeared, complete darkness took over the room, causing Naruto to bolt from his bed, throwing his sheets into the air in dismay.

His feet pounded down the stairs quickly trying to escape the darkness cast over the entire house. The glimpse of light caught Naruto's attention, forcing him to turn his sights onto the kitchen, running towards it as if being chased by bulls.

Compete darkness happened to be one of his worst fears, rooted to his childhood, and one he had never overcome. Tonight, incidentally was the first time in many years that he had to face the utter darkness. Usually, the streetlights provided Naruto light during the dark parts of the storms, and even if the power went out, he always had a candle ready and waiting. But today, had been the first time where nothing could drive away the darkness. The everlasting darkness, where not even light could penetrate, a deep abyss were demons stayed trapped, with no hope for salvation.

Bursting into the kitchen, Naruto's chest moved rapidly, his blue eyes wild with fear. "Did you see a ghost?"

The voice appearing out of thin air became the final straw for all of Naruto's nerves. The release of his scream could have easily deafened anyone in a five-foot radius. And the moment Naruto returned to his senses he searched the room franticly trying to find the owner of the voice, praying that it really wasn't a ghost. After the entire day, last thing Naruto needed was to live with a ghost.

Clad in a shirt obviously two sizes to big, Ren sat at the table Naruto was positive hadn't been there before. Sipping the steaming tea from the teacup she had discovered when had snuck down here earlier; she turned to Naruto, his breathing laborious with the amount of screaming and running he had just done. Opening her mouth to ask why he had screamed, the words didn't even reach the air, before Sasuke sauntered into the kitchen, a deathly glare being sent to the other occupants of the room.

"Who screamed?" The question held an air of authority, Sasuke wanted answers, the quicker the answers came the quicker he could go back to sleeping.

"Naruto saw a ghost." Ren stated, finding the situation rather amusing now. Sasuke turned his head towards the blonde, who was still working on catching his breathe.

"A ghost?" Sasuke asked, trying to hide his disbelief and mirth behind a disinterested mask and a raised eyebrow.

"It….wasn't…a ghost…" Naruto gasped out, breathing in large quantities of air slowly bringing his breathing level back to control. "It was…something else…a bad dream." The excuse was weak, and all the occupants in the room could tell.

Sasuke gazed into Naruto's eyes, finding the fear the blonde tried to hide from his face. It was the same fear Ren had noticed on Naruto's face the moment he exploded into the room. Something frightened the blonde to the point he had snapped at her question. And even thought Ren knew she shouldn't, deep down she felt worried for the blonde. For the first time he seemed breakable, the same way Sasuke looked like whenever Orochimaru would mention the name 'Itachi'.

"Dobe…" Sasuke began, stopping as he realized he had no idea what to do. With Ren, it was easy, all he had to do was hold her in his arms until she stopped crying about Uta, or the continuous dream of the ruby red moon, but Sasuke wouldn't dare try to offer the same comfort to Naruto.

"Sasuke-tousan I'm tired now." Remembering Ren still sat in the room Sasuke turned back to her the moment her small pink mouth released a yawn.

"Would you like me to tuck you in then Ren?" The question was a standard one, always varying in answers, most of them being 'yes's', but this time was different. Ren shook her head at his question, a plan slowly weaving itself into her mind.

Raising an eyebrow at the moon colored hair girl, Sasuke waited for an explanation. But Ren ignored his curiosity and instead grabbed each of the two's hands, pulling them away from the kitchen only allowing Sasuke enough time to flip the switch, turning off the lights.

With the light gone, Naruto's hand instinctively tightened around Ren's, giving her a possible idea of what was going on, but if she really knew she stayed silent. The rain created a rhythmical tune as the trio walked up the stairs and were dragged straight into the room Sasuke had claimed, the only one Ren knew contained a large bed.

"I couldn't go to sleep because of the rain." Ren said, as if this was her answer for the final question asked in the kitchen. Pulling the two men to one side of the bed, she dropped their hands and slipped into the bed with ease, her mouth releasing a series of yawns, proving her need for sleep. Glancing at the two, a small smile was sent their way before she closed her eyes, easily eased into asleep.

"I should go." Naruto whispered, wanting to be part of the family relationship that had sprouted between Ren and Sasuke, but already feeling like a foreigners just by merely observing the connection the two shared.

Turning around, Naruto made a move for the door, but the pull of his shirt stopped him. Cunning little Ren had tightened her fist around his pants once she had dropped his hands, almost as if knowing such an event would occur.

"She wants you to stay." Sasuke whispered back, slipping into his bed, in the same graceful manner as Ren had. Looking between the clenching fist and the door, a sigh escaped his lips. Being with the two wouldn't be any different than being alone. His fear still hung in the air, slowly closing in on him, and it would be long before he would break down again.

But damn it to hell! There was no way he was he going to allow Sasuke to see his fear, he could see the smug smirk that probably was on Sasuke's face right now. Naruto knew Sasuke would make some sort of comment if he tried to leave, or if he stayed. One way or another he knew the Uchiha would find humor in it… if the bastard had a funny bone in his body that is.

Laughing at his own joke, Naruto climbed into the bed, taking the other spot next to Ren. "You're daughter sure is something, teme." Naruto muttered, have decided he would wait till Sasuke had become a victim of sleep before sneaking back to the kitchen, finding a candle, and returning to his chosen room to wait out the entire night, all the while trying no to suffocate on the overwhelming darkness.

"Just go to sleep dobe." Sasuke said, his eyes dropping slowly.

"Night teme." Naruto answered, unsure why he suddenly felt so sleepy. In a matter of moments the blonde had become the second victim of the Sandman.

Turning to face the other two sleeping in his bed, the sudden flash of lightning revealed the peaceful sleeping face of the two people Sasuke seemed to have the strongest connection to.

"Goodnight Naruto." Sasuke said, his mind temporally leaving all thoughts about the next few months, Orochimaru, and even his brother far behind. For just tonight Sasuke would dream of the life he could have had.

Both men finally fell victims to sleep. Neither noticing when a pair of small warm hands wrapping themselves around one tanned hand, and a pale one. The lightning flashed again, as if to provide proof of the small smile gracing Ren's lips.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pheme: I hoped you all liked it, I'm soo starting to love Ren, though I don't believe it is possible to hate a character. So because of the long weekend to come, I'll have a lot of time to workon the next chapter (since I've already started, so look for the new one by around a week or less from now. Thanks a lot to my BETA Ebony, I'd so be lost with out her. And if anyone is waiting to see Itachi or Kisami sometime soon expected them in one of the next two chapters. Now remember to REVIEW!

And Now a little chat added in by EbonyWolf:

Naruto- just wondering when you'll be able to slip ina lovely lemon with me and my dark-haired mystery man??? Hmmm!

Sasuke- Baka! Don't sound so excited! She'll get there eventually.

Naruto- huffs- I was just wondering

Sasuke- oh yeah and dobe? Call me you dark haired mystery man one more time and I will have to kill you: D (evil smile)

Naruto: Hehe

Godda love those two, now review as your gift to me for valentine day!


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